A Day in my Life

FIRST Robotics

2012-02-01T09:51:00.000-05:00

Cameron is on the Robotics Team at school. Some of you already know this. Some of you have been forced to listen to me do some shameless bragging about it.It all started a couple of years ago when Cameron went along with the rest of his. then grade 8, class to tour the high school. He came home all excited and couldn't stop talking about the Robotics Club. How nice, I thought. He'll have fun with that. I had no idea!

A little over a year ago (during his first semester of high school) he came home and told me that the "club" was starting up and could he be a part of it. Of course, I said. You'll have fun with that. I had no idea.

One day near the beginning of January, he came home and told me that the start day for the "robotics club" was the following day. On a Saturday, I asked him? That's odd. Well, OK. What's a couple of hours on a Saturday. It will be nice. He'll have fun with that. I still had no idea.

...then he went to the kick off. I drove him. I saw the Universities there recruiting. I saw some of the information. Wow, I thought. They really take this seriously. Good for him. He'll have fun with that. I really, honestly, had no idea.

When he came home, with all the information ... the pages, and pages of information, and I started to read, the light started to go on. Wow, I thought. I had no idea!!Wikipedia defines FIRST Robotics as this:

The FIRST Robotics Competition is an international high school robotics competition organized by FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). Each year, teams of high school students compete to build robots weighing up to 120 pounds (54 kg), not including battery and bumpers, that can complete a task, which changes every year. Teams are given a standard set of parts and the game details at the beginning of January and are given six weeks to construct a competitive robot, that can operate autonomously as well as when guided by wireless controls, to accomplish the game's tasks.[3]

The Teams attend a kick off meeting where the details of the competition are released - the size of robot they need to build, what the robot needs to do, etc. and then they have 6 weeks only to build it. At the end of the 6 weeks the robot is tagged and shipped.

Cameron is in the middle of the build right now. That means that Tuesday and Thursdays he has to stay after school and build from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m., Saturdays from 8 - 4, Sundays, where needed, and during exam week (like this week) they build when they're not writing an exam. It's very intense. There are about 30 students on the team, three teachers, and many mentors from the industry that come in to share their expertise and work with the students. It's an incredible programme.

In March the Team will go to their first competition in Rochester, New York. They will be there for 6 days. At the end of March they compete in a competition at the University of Waterloo - that one is 4 days.So ... I really had no idea what we were signing up for, but I'm thrilled that he can be a part of such an amazing programme with peers who are highly motivated!

CNN ran a special on Education in the US and they actually followed three different Robotics teams from the kick off to the competition. You can take a look at that here: F.I.R.S.T. Teams are filmed with Soledad O'Brien

Here's another link of just a snippet of FIRST Robotics: FIRST Robotics

And finally a video of his team's quarter final match from last season:

I guess I'm a bit of a geek because I'm looking forward to both competitions. We're going to drive down to Rochester to watch the final matches on the Saturday. We're also going to gather up whoever wants to come and go to the matches at Waterloo.

This Week on Use Your Stuff

2012-01-30T09:04:00.002-05:00

...we are challenged to line it up and stretch it out. Line it up ... your photos, embellishments,page elements, whatever you wish. Just line them up ... and thenstretch it out - across your page - across two pages.

Here's my layout for this challenge

Come on by the Use Your Stuff Challenge Blog and show us what you can do with this challenge. We'd love to see it.

By the way, did you notice my make-over? I spent some time in the last three days poking around and trying to make things a little better around here. There may be more changes to come, but for now I'm liking the new look.

My Little Bliss List

2012-01-27T09:02:00.001-05:00

I love this idea! Liv Lane has started a weekely meme to share her weekly moments of bliss.

She Writes:
Want to do your part to spread joy? Want to connect with other like-minded positive peeps? Need a little lift at the end of each week? Then The Little Bliss List is for you! Launched in January 2012, The Little Bliss List appears every Friday on my Choosing Beauty blog.

Since my word of the year is bliss, every Friday I share a list of the bliss in my midst, reflecting on moments over the past week where I’ve caught myself in a sense of wonder, contentment, and true joy. It’s like a gratitude list, but rather than just being thankful for the things I have…I want to be thankful for the way I feel – even if it’s fleeting – and celebrate whatever brought me to that bliss.

If you want to check it out and, or, participate, you can find her HERE.

So, what's my Little Bliss List for this week?

time spent with my little ball of fur, Suki. She's really wormed her way into my heart and has me wrapped around her little paw! I love just sitting and playing with her.
spending time with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law. We don't get to do that near enough!
spending an afternoon with two wonderful friends yesterday
taking the time to work on some scrapbook pages at home. I really miss having that time and motivation everyday. I want to get back into that.
watching Cameron's passion and excitment as he tells me about what they accomplished in Robotics each day. Oh to be that passionate about something.
listening to all three boys together - laughing and joking and just acting silly.

So what's you bliss list?

This week on Use Your Stuff

2012-01-25T14:25:00.003-05:00

The challenge was White plus One. We could only use white and one other colour. What a fun challenge!
Here's my layout:

Come on over to Use Your Stuff and join in on the challenges and get those photos scrapped!

Friday Fragments

2012-01-20T08:49:00.000-05:00

Fragments, fragments, and more fragments. There's a lot of them rambling around inside my head right now.

Robotics has begun for this year and Cameron is on the school team once again. This is his second year doing it. He's been looking forward to this since it ended last year. They're in week two of the six-week build - Tuesdays, Thursdays from 3 - 9, and all day Saturdays
Exams start for him next week - I hope he's able to focus on those as well as robotics
Spencer has started his second work term - this time in Waterloo. I was secretly hoping that he would be closer to home so he could move back home for a little while - I'm sure his girlfriend was too!
I've been a little obsessed lately myself. John wants to go away somewhere hot during March Break but we don't want to drop a bundle either ... hahaha! impossible during March Break! I've been spending a lot of my free time over the last three weeks researching our options and finding something that will work with the Robotics competition that ends on the Saturday that March Break starts - and the competition is in Rochester! It's a challenge!
January and February are supposed to be a slower time for me. What happened? (well, other than Robotics). It seems that we're constantly trying to work something into our schedule, or having two or three things on at once, or trying to work with one car because one of the boys is using the other one.
Winter has finally arrived and boy, is it cold right now. I'm happy to see the snow, though.
I've been trying to get back into a regular scrapbooking routine. It's proving to be a little difficult and my motivation is just not there.
I had a fun, impromptu afternoon with the girls yesterday. We went for lunch and then went bowling. It was just what the doctor ordered on a cold, snowy, January afternoon.

So, what fragments are rambling around inside your head? Go to Friday Fragments to share yours or to read what other people have in their heads.

Show and Tell

2012-01-17T08:27:00.000-05:00

It's time for a little show and tell, aka posting a couple of layouts.

This first one was done for a colour challenge on the Use your Stuff challenge blog. The challenge was to use brown, blue, green, and orange - not too much of a stretch for me as I love using these colours.
These pictures have been sitting on my desk for well over a year, if not two. I just couldn't find the inspiration to do them. When Joy posted the colour challenge I decided to force myself to get these done, and I have to say, I love the way it turned out. Maybe I should force myself more often.

Have you been over to see the Use Your Stuff blog yet? Do you need some motivation? Then come on over and check out the recent and older challenges and jump right on in. We're also looking for another Challenger, so check it out.

This one hasn't been on my table for quite as long, but still long enough. I did this one for a lacing challenge on the The Scrapping Bug Forums.
The pictures are from our time with family at a cottage a year and a half ago. I wish I could be back there right now!
Have you been to The Scrapping Bug? It's a smaller forum, and great ladies there. It's a lot of fun. Join us!

2012-01-12T10:27:00.002-05:00

I am: Canadian (sorry, I can't hear/ read that without thinking of the commercial.)Right now, I feel: a little too tired. I wish I could crawl back into bed for a while.
The sounds I hear are: rain hitting the window beside me. I wish it was snow!Around me, I see: the cat, all curled up having the nap that I wish I was havingI think it's weird that: someone would spend $50,000 to clone a pet and actually believe that they are getting their dead pet back.It bothers me when: people are selfish
The best thing about my personality is: that I'm very caring
My worst quality is: I care too much what other people thinkMy favorite part about life is: being with family or close friendsThis is attractive in the opposite sex: humor
I usually get bored while: I'm just sitting watching TV
I'm afraid that: my boys are growing up too fast and I'm not taking every chance I can to enjoy them right nowI admire: a very wise friend who always knows the right thing to do and sayI wish: things were easier for Matt, sociallyI feel exhilarated when: I travel
I appreciate: when someone goes out of their way for one of my boys
The best thing to happen this week was: spending an hour in the car with Spencer, just the two of us, just chatting about anything and everything. I miss that.If I could tell the world just one thing, it would be: that everyone needs to feel accepted and lovedSome people are just so: meanI'm optimistic about: life in general
An event like this would traumatize me: the loss of someone close to meI trust: GodMy intuition is usually: rightI haven't had this feeling in a long time: pain free. I think I need to go to the doctor about my back.I would never be seen wearing: a fur coat
I am annoyed because: the TV is full of people in their so-called real livesI feel most beautiful when: I'm all dressed-up for a night outI could careless about: what the Karashians are doing!!!My favorite kind of movie is: romantic comedy
I often get distracted by: scrapbooking
I am eager to: make our March Break plans
I'm glad that: my boys are good boys and nice people
I feel guilty about: a lot - sigh, the life of a mom!
I've finally made peace with the fact that:
I'm most talkative around: my Tuesday girlies
I am proud of: Cameron being on the Robotics Team at school

What about you? Tell me.

This week ...

2012-01-10T07:45:00.001-05:00

on Use Your Stash Challenge Blog ...
the challenges have started back up for the new year.
This week the challenge is an ad challenge. Take this ad and let it inspire you in some way.

Here's my finished layout.

Come on over to the Use Your Stuff Blog and join in. Don't forget to link your finished layout, card, or project so we can see what you've done.

The Bathroom Wall

2012-01-08T14:37:00.000-05:00

I mentioned a few times in November and December about buying some stone tiles for the powder room. The powder room is very small ... very small! We did a renovation on it about three years ago to at least try and make it nice but it still lacked something. One day when I was on Pinterest I saw a picture of a small bathroom like ours with a tiled wall behind the sink. I was inspired. As soon as John was inspired too we ran out and picked out the tile and ordered it. He promised that it would be installed by Christmas Day ... and it was. It was finished on December 24th!

I love it! It finally has that wow factor I was looking for.

Here's what it looked like before:

I told you it was small!!

and now...

I really love how it turned out. Even John has admitted that it was worth the time and money.

Today

2012-01-03T13:40:00.000-05:00

outside: it's sooooo cold today! It's also sooooo sunny. I guess if we want sun in the winter we have to put up with the frigid temperatures.
thankful: that I didn't gain more weight than I did over the Christmas Season.
eating: cheese cake right now ... left over cheese cake that keeps calling my name.
wearing: still in my pyjamas.
feeling: very, very tired ... and a little nauseated because of a migraine
creating: happy to be finished my December Daily album. What next?
enjoying: a cup of tea (and the cheese cake)
going: to the grocery store in a few minutes (if I can get myself dressed).
wanting: someone else to put the Christmas Tree away.
thinking about: a friend who lost her husband very recently.
needing: to watch some tutorials on how to use my new camera
wondering: if I'll get my new credit card in time for my shopping trip to Buffalo tomorrow.
anticipating: life getting back into a regular routine ... Monday
sharing: my beautiful girl

December Daily - 25th, 26th, 27th, 28th, 29th, 30th, and 31st

2012-01-02T16:13:00.000-05:00

I can't believe I'm done the album! I really enjoyed this project.

December 25th

Christmas Day has finally arrived. It all started about 6:30 a.m. when Matt came in and asked if we were no longer doing stockings. I had planned on getting them out first thing in the morning when everyone was still sleeping. Oops. After getting the turkey in the oven, stuffing the stockings, and making a cup of tea everyone started getting up. This year it was us, and Grandma and Grampa. We enjoyed our time around the tree, opening presents, laughing and talking. After that we ate a big breakfast and spent the day together with the smell of turkey making us hungry for dinner. These are the best of times!

December 26th

The annual Sears Christmas, always held on Boxing Day, was at our house this year. We had 21 here for dinner and to open presents. Everyone always loves this day where we get to come together and just spend some time together. This year James brought along his road hockey equipment and all the guys went out for a game. I know my boys really enjoyed it. There’s nothing like a “good ‘ole hockey game.”

December 27th

Today we needed to take Spencer and Cameron into Trade in Toronto for their new uniforms, so we decided to make a day of it and go to the Eatons Centre. We ate lunch at Greenjeans – my favourite, and then John and I went one way and Spencer and Cameron went another. There were lots of people out looking for Boxing Day sales – especially in Danier Leather, where we were. In the end, both John and I came home with new leather coats.

December 28th

Christmas is over, for all intents and purposes. Today was the first day all month that I didn’t have anything on, any shopping to do, or any preparations to make. It felt good to be able to sleep in, stay in my pyjamas, and then get up only to lay on the couch and nap ... and since we have all the left-overs, I didn’t even have to make food for anyone.

December 29th

Tonight we decided to go to the movies. Matt had to work so it was just John, Spencer, Cameron and I. We went to see Sherlock Holmes. The boys loved it, I was bored! Oh well, at least I was with my guys.

December 30th

Today was another low key day. John has the whole week off and everyone is just enjoying relaxing around the house.

Cameron suggested that we have a Big Bang marathon so he brought out his new DVDs that he got for Christmas and we spent about 3 hours watching.

We love that show.

December 31st
This layout is also for the first challenge of the New Year on the Use Your Stuff blog. Thet challenge was to use numbers as a design element.

We spend every New Year’s Eve with Cathy and Don. This year we were at their place.

December Daily - 22nd, 23rd, 24th

2011-12-31T11:30:00.000-05:00

December 22nd

Tonight we went to see the Canadian Brass. We were lucky enough to score three free tickets so John, Spencer, and I went together. They played at Roy Thompson Hall along with the Toronto Symphony. It was an awesome concert. I could listen to them play all day long! It was so much fun to get dressed up and go out with two of my favourite guys. The only thing that would have made it better would be if Matt and Cameron were able to be there with us.

December 23rd

One of our family traditions is to do a family Present Wrapping Party. This year was a little harder to get a night to do it, but we were able to carve some time out tonight. Everyone brought their gifts down and as they wrapped as I got out some treats. We had music playing and candles on. This is one tradition that everyone looks forward to every year.

December 24th

There’s just something so peaceful about Christmas Eve. Not just in the wee hours, but the whole evening. This year we were at Cathy’s and even with a houseful of people, there was a peaceful calmness. Through all the excitement of being with family, playing games, chatting, eating, there was still the underlying peacefulness of the night. All the preparations are done, and it’s finally time to sit back and enjoy the real meaning of the season ...

Silent night ... Holy night!

December Daily - 19th, 20, 21st

2011-12-30T16:40:00.000-05:00

December 19th

Cathy and I drove down to London to spend the day with Mom and to take her out shopping. We all had a little shopping to finish off and thought it would be fun to spend the day together. We spent the morning running around to different box stores and then we met Dad for lunch. After a nice, leisurely lunch, we spent the afternoon shopping in the mall. We really enjoyed our day together.

December 20th

Every year, just before Christmas, the girls from the Lunch Bunch get together on a Tuesday for a Christmas lunch. This year we went to Baton Rouge. There were 11 of us that were able to make it. Every year this is always one of the highlights of my December. There’s nothing like spending a couple of hours laughing and chatting with great friends.

December 21

Spencer finally finished his exams and came home for Christmas. It was so important for all of us to sit down for a family dinner. It’s been a while since we’ve all been home together like this. By special request, I made a family favourite – Thai Noodles. It was so good to relax around the table and listen to my boys chat and tease each other once again.

December Daily - 17th and 18th

2011-12-23T11:48:00.001-05:00

December 17th

I love nutcrackers. Right now we have 13 of them in the house. Half of them are Cameron's. Every year for the last several years, Mom has given him one to add to his collection. When it comes time for him to move out, I'm going to have a hard time parting with them.

December 18th

Even though December is such a busy month for me and I enjoy the hustel and bustle of it, I also cherish the quiet moments of just sitting in the family room with the lights of the tree and being with my family. Tonight I watched Cameron playing with Suki for a while and then he was able to sneak in a cuddle with her. I'm so glad to be able to catch moments like this on my camera.

December Daily - 15th and 16th

2011-12-22T10:09:00.000-05:00

December 15th

Today Matt and I hit the mall together. We went to Square One. mat went one way to get all his shopping done and I went the other. We met for lunch and had a nice time just chatting together and he proudly showed me everything that he had picked up for people. I love shopping with him because he always puts so much thought into what he got for people. By the end of the day he was finished with his shopping. He was way more successful than I was.

December 16th

Deb, Michele and I all have birthdays within 3 weeks of each other so for the last few years we've tried to get together for a birthday lunch. This year Deb had a party for her birthday. Tonight we went out to Duelling Pianos with three of Deb's other friends. It was a very fun night with lots of laughs and great songs.

December Daily - Dec. 13th and 14th

2011-12-21T10:55:00.000-05:00

The problem with this project is that once you're caught up, you're behind the next day again.

December 13th

It didn't take long for my December calendar to fill up. Between all the banding engagements, school stuff, regular stuff, and festivities, there are very few free days. Usually I don't like having a busy month like this, but in December I love having all these busy days. It may be a bit of a shock for me after Christmas when things slow down again.

The year Cameron was born we were living in Barbados and so that Christmas we spent in Puerto Rico. While we were shopping in town during that week I found a store that was selling Nativity sets that were made inside a painted coconut shell. They were so cool and the perfect souvenir from our only Christmas spent away from our families. This is one of the "Christmas decorations" that stay out all year long.

December Daily - 10th, 11th, 12th

2011-12-16T15:43:00.000-05:00

December 10

Today was a busy day for us as we drove to Guelph to spend the day with the Claytons for the family Christmas. It was a nice day of catching up with family members that we don't get to see often enough. Afterwards, we dropped the boys off at home and then went to Crystal's house for her Christmas party. There were five of the Lunch Bunch girls there along with their husbands. It was a great night with a great group of people.

December 11th

Tonight was the annual Progressive Dinner for the teens. We loaded them up and hit 5 different houses for supper. They had a lot of fun, and I went home with a headache. What a great group of teens.

December 12

Tonight was Carols in the Park. It was our second year participating in this. It's a community event that the band plays carols at, outside in the park. It was the perfect night for it. It was mild and there were a lot of people there. Afterwards we warmed up with hot chocolate and a chat at Second Cup with Larry and Leslie.

December Daily - Dec. 7th, 8th, and 9th

2011-12-15T09:42:00.000-05:00

December 7th

I love listening to Christmas music. I usually start listening to it the last week of November to help get me into the shopping mood. My ipod has a dedicated playlist for all my favourites. It's a great mix of traditional carols, Salvation Army band music, and secular songs. This year's newest addition is Michael Buble's Christmas album and I can't seem to listen to it enough. I'm sure my family will be sick of it by the time Christmas Day arrives.

December 8

Today I spent the day at the mall trying to tackle the long list of gifts that I need to buy this year. I’ve barely started my shopping. There’s something fun about darting from store to store looking for that perfect gift for the people I love ... but it can be very frustrating, too, when I don’t have a clue what to get someone. Today I was somewhat successful. Still, I think there will be a few more days spent shopping before the 25^th arrives. My plan is to have it all done by the 18^th so I can spend the week before Christmas just enjoying this time of the year.

December 9th

Since we all play in the band, we spend a lot of time playing during the month of December. We play in various small groups at different functions but one of the favourite things to do is to play in the mall at the kettles. I think I enjoy it more than the rest of my family. I love that all five of us, plus one or two more, make up our small group. I love sharing that time with my boys.

December Daily - 5th and 6th

2011-12-14T10:23:00.000-05:00

I haven't forgotten about this project. I'm taking my pictures every day. My thought was that if I had all the pages ready to go all I would have to do would be to print the photos, write the journaling, and stick it all down each night. However, my nights have been so busy that I have a little catch-up to do. That's my goal today - to get all caught up.

Here are the next two:
December 5th

Every year for the last 10 years there has been a cat laying under the Christmas tree. Oliver loved the tree. As soon as it was up he would lay under it, happy as anything. He spent the whole month of December there. After he passed away, I figured the tree would look very lonely this year. When the tree went up this year, Suki quickly found a spot she liked under there. Once she was under there the tree seemed complete. I love seeing Oliver's old spot filled because I still miss him everyday.

December 6th

She's making a list, and checking it twice. It seems that all I'm doing right now is making lists - lists of gifts I need to buy, lists of things I need to do, lists of groceries I need to buy. Then I lose those lists and have to start all over again. There's just something I love about being able to scratch things off my lists.

Stay tuned for more ...

December Daily - December 3rd and 4th

2011-12-05T10:45:00.000-05:00

December 3rd

This year was our second year to be a part of the Gift of Christmas. It's a concert that is produced by Mississauga Temple and the band is a main component of it. We were thrilled to be able to be a part of this wonderful concert. It was held at the Living Arts Centre and there were two concerts - both of which were full houses. It was a perfect way to kick off our Christmas season and to help keep us focused on the reason we celebrate Christmas.

December 4th

My favourite Christmas decoration is one that hangs on the tree. It is a baby that is crying because he is hanging by his shirt. I got the decoration 21 years ago from Mom. It was Matthew's first Christmas that year. It has a lot of sentimental value for me. Every year when I unpack the decorations, I always put that one on the tree last and always make sure it is front and centre on the tree. Every time I see it, it makes me smile. It will hang on my tree for years to come.

December Daily

2011-12-03T12:45:00.001-05:00

This year I decided to participate in the December Daily. For those who aren't scrapbookers, the idea is to document something every day during the month of December. At first I was a little overwhelmed with the idea of creating an album like this but the more I thought about it, the more I felt I needed to create one and document the important things of our Christmas season.

I have pre-made all my pages so that all they're waiting for is the pictures and journaling, and maybe a small amount of embellishments. The key for success for me will be simplicity. I also want to make myself accountable, so I'm going to come here and do a December Daily post each day (or doubling up sometimes on those very busy days that I know I'll have.)

December 1

My Christmas season this year was kicked off with Rick's Christmas party. Every year, Community Living Burlington puts on a big dinner and dance for all the clients and their families. I always enjoy seeing everyone so happy to share that night together. This year Dad was sick, so it was just Mom and I that attended, but Rick didn't seem to mind too much. He was happy just to have us there and to be eating great food. It was a great start to this year's festivities.

December 2nd

It's December 2nd and I'm still not finished putting up all the decorations. Usually I spend November 30th decorating, but this year I'm behind a little. Yesterday I did a lot of the decorating, and today I had planned on doing the trees, but we're having trouble with the lights on the pre-lit tree and so tomorrow we will have to go out and get more lights. Still, the house is starting to look like Christmas time has arrived.

Monday T0-Do List

2011-11-28T09:16:00.000-05:00

Today's To Do (aka how much can one person cram into one day?)

Sleep-in. Well - that didn't happen. Not only did I not sleep-in, but I didn't sleep much during the night.
Drag one very tired boy from his nice warm bed and make sure he gets onto the bus on time so I don't have to drive him to school myself
Clean kitchen from a weekend of eating, running, and 4 men (need I say more?)
Meds, breakfast, internet/email catch-up - almost done this one
Blog post - this was a last minute decision
last coat of paint on the trim in John's office
touch-up pain in the dining-room and living room
clean up all the paint stuff from three solid weeks of painting
grocery shopping
shopping stops at dollarama, used-book store, Canadian Tire (can I get out of here in under an hour?), Marks Work Wearhouse (to finally replace one boy's old, ratty fleece-lined hoodie)
Steam clean the carpet in the family room and the area carpet in the front hallway
Clean the main-floor of the house to get ready for the girls coming over tomorrow
laundry
supper for two boys
get ready for a nice, romantic dinner with my hubby as we celebrate 24 happy years together today!

My goal is to actually not fall asleep at dinner tonight.

Friday Fragments

2011-11-25T09:24:00.000-05:00

My painting is almost done. I'm on the last of the three rooms. Today I'm doing the second coat and then I just need to do the trim. I've also been taking the time to patch the dings in the walls around the house and doing touch ups. Do you know how many dings three teenage boys can put in walls?
Funny thing is when I was patching in the hallway upstairs I found a vertical crack. In that hallway (which is quite large) we have a computer area with the family computer, and the upright piano. I became very concerned thinking that maybe the floor wasn't strong enough for the piano and causing some structural issues. Beside the crack was a vertical buckle. When John came home later that night we were both checking it out and examining the ceiling underneath. Finally, after many minutes, Cameron said "OK, I need to confess. Spencer and I were wrestling and he threw me into the wall." I don't know how long ago it was, but he was afraid to tell us. Well, he picked the right time because we weren't mad, just relieved that it's not a structural issue.
Our band is in the middle of recording right now. Last night we were recording for a few hours and tonight we're back at it again. The rest of the recording will be done later.
This is where we'll be on Sunday ... two concerts. Lots of playing for us. I still have a couple of tickets for the evening concert if anyone wants them.
I was pinned on Pinterest! How cool is that??? Check it out here: Pinterest. Are you on Pinterest? It's so addicting.

Hope on over to Friday Fragments to share your own weekly fragments.
Now, back to painting - lucky me!

This week on Use Your Stuff

2011-11-24T08:40:00.000-05:00

This week we were challenged to get out some summer photos and use our stuff to create a project.

Here's my layout:

Do you have your summer photos still sitting around? Why not pull them out and dig into your stash and use your stuff. Hop on over to Use Your Stuff and share your finished project and see what others have done with this challenge.

Today

2011-11-23T09:58:00.000-05:00

outside: winter has given us just a little sneak peek. It's been a little cold, and last night we had some freezing rain.
thankful: my back seems to be getting better each day. Finally!
eating: on the fly a lot this week. I hope this isn't going to be a habbit for December.
wearing: you guessed it - yoga pants, a t shirt, a hoodie, and barefeet at the moment.
feeling: like I'm finally making headway on the basement painting. Two rooms down and one to go.
creating: pages for my December Daily. More on that later.
enjoying: a few minutes of peace, quiet and relaxation right now.
going: here, there and everywhere today. Chiropractor, Speech Therapy, Aeropostal (big sale today), haircut, and band practise tonight.
wanting: to spend an evening with my guys - just the five of us, no where to have to rush off to. Is that too much to ask?
needing: a haircut - desperately
wondering: when John is going to start on the bathroom tile - certainly not in the next few days
anticipating: a very busy rest of the week - band practice, 2 nights of band recording, the start of Christmas kettles, and a couple of concerts
sharing: Hahahaha! Check out the look on Santa's face! This picture is from 1962.

Friday Fragments

2011-11-18T10:10:00.000-05:00

I don't have too much floating around in my brain this week. I think I've gone into shut down mode with everything I have on my plate right now ... and with everything that will be going on for the next month and a half.

This week John turned 50! -the big 5-0! How did that happen?? The thing is I couldn't tease him too much about it because it's my turn in two weeks. I'm not sure how I feel about this.
The painting continues. I got the basement family room all painted, including trim. There are eight doors in that room. 8!!! - one of those doors is a set of french doors too. This week I'm working on the guest room. Walls are now done - today I start the trim.
Matt had a bit of a scary incident at work this week. He works the night shift at a fast-food type place. The store is closed during the night but the drive-through window is open. He was doing some of his cleaning duties when he looked up to see a man standing there asking for some food. They didn't know how he got in until they looked at the surveillance tapes later and saw that he actually climbed through the take-out window. I'm just so glad that they were able to get him out of the store without incident. It could have been so much worse.
Home Depot called to say that the tile that we ordered was in. We had ordered stone tile - 5 boxes containing 7 tiles each. I went in to pick it up. They brought me out one box. "Um, no, there's supposed to be 5 boxes." No, she said, you ordered 5 tiles. "No, I ordered 5 boxes with 7 tiles in each box." She opened the box and there was only 5 tiles in the box. She checked the order form and tells me that I only paid for 5. "Well, then they are the most expensive tiles on the face of the earth then because that would mean they are $100 a piece. My whole order was almost $600. I paid for 5 boxes of 7" She called someone up, who then went and checked the tile boards and came back and told me that I was right. Really?? So they're not $100 per tile? So now we have to wait longer for them to get the right order in.
PD Day today. Cameron is going rock climbing this afternoon with the jazz band. One of the parents asked me if I wanted to go along too and climb. I'm not sure I'm up for that. It might be a good photo op though. Afterwards we're all going for dinner. I'm looking forward to that.

Well, I can't put off the painting anymore. I'm the queen of procrastination. If you have lots of fragments floating around in your head and want to get them out, visit Friday Fragments to participate.

This week on Use Your Stuff...

2011-11-16T16:36:00.000-05:00

We were challenged to create an all-white layout. We were allowed to use just a little bit of one colour for an accent. I've never done this before and I love the way it turned out. I will definately be doing this again.

Why not head on over to the Use Your Stuff Challenge Blog to participate and see what the other girls came up with. Don't forget to link your layout up over there because we'd love to see it.

I also used this same layout for two other challenges. One was a sketch challenge on The Scrapping Bug board and the other one was using fabric on your layout for the Scrapbook Star board. Gotta love completing three challenges in one.

Today

2011-11-14T09:24:00.000-05:00

outside: our Christmas lights are up and looking at the weather forcast for the next 10 days, I'm glad we got them up while it was warmer out.
thankful: that someone stepped up for an executive position for the jazz band because I was feeling very guilty not volunteering for it
eating: trying a new recipe tonight for dinner - turkey meatballs. I've been wanting to try it for a week now, but haven't had the chance
wearing: yoga pants, a t shirt, and barefeet again - changing shortly into my painting clothes
creating: a nice family room in the basement. It just may become the favourite room in the house
feeling: that I need to unplug more often
enjoying: having a playful kitty in the house again
going: grocery shopping - I'm tired of people going to the cupboards only to shut them and complain that there's no food in the house. I have to admit, though, we are pretty low on food.
wanting: too many things on my Christmas list. I need to narrow it down.
needing: a few extra hours in my days right now
planning: going rock climbing on Friday with the jazz band and then out for dinner
wondering: if I should start my Christmas shopping soon. I haven't even given it much thought.
loving: the cooler temps at this time of the year
anticipating: snow. Yes, I know, I said the "s" word but I love snow and am looking forward to it's arrival
sharing: my babies - 14 years ago

Friday Fragments

2011-11-11T09:41:00.000-05:00

I've been one busy girl this week. Painting, painting, painting. I painted the basement family room. Today the plan is to do the trim down there. Next week will be the guest room.

Today is Remembrance Day in Canada. I always get choked up. Today is no different. I will be remembering all the men and women who have fought so that we can have the freedoms we have.

As much as I don't want to eat McDonald's and know what it's doing to my body, sometimes it's soooooo good.

Cameron is on the Robotics Team at school again this year. Yesterday after school they were doing some machine maintenance and cleaning. I don't know what chemicals they were using, but by the time he got home he was feeling sick and then he threw up. He spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in bed. He's feeling much better this morning.

Big news in Toronto - Toronto is the most hated city by other Canadians. Wow. Although I've heard this before, I still don't understand why. I love Toronto.

We need to get the outdoor Christmas lights up this weekend. I really don't want to be doing it when the weather turns really cold. It's supposed to be around 14 degrees C so now's the time.

Do you have a lot of random fragments floating around in your head and want to unload them? Join Friday Fragments and get them out of your head.

This week on Use Your Stuff...

2011-11-10T09:40:00.000-05:00

we're challenged to break out our stamps.
I don't have a lot of stamps, but I do have some and I have to say that I'm getting addicted to embossing powder. I love the way it looks. I'm using it a lot right now for titles.

So, here's my layout for this challenge. I used stamps on the title and then got to use a new splash stamp I found. Both were heat embossed.

Hop on over to Use Your Stuff to see what everyone else did with this challenge and to share your own layout. We'd love to see it.

On Feeling Invisable

2011-11-09T09:24:00.000-05:00

A couple of posts ago, I mentioned in my ramblings that I felt invisable a lot of the time. Since then I received some emails, comments and messages from concerned friends and others so I thought I needed to come back here and clarify.

First, let me say, I'm OK. I'm completely fine.

I grew up in a large family. There were five of us birth children of which I was 5th. When I was 5 years old, my parents became foster parents and our door was a revolving door for babies and toddlers who were in need of a safe place to live while their future was being determined. Two of those foster children became permanent in our house - Rick who is 7 years younger and has Downs Syndrome and Mike who is a year younger than I am.

I loved growing up in our house. It was always full of love and activity. My parents were great parents. That being said, I was number 5. I was quiet and shy and stayed away from any attention (and still do.) Without going into a lot of the nitty gritty of what it's like being #5, it's easy to see how I could feel invisable during those years (which was good for a shy, quiet girl who stayed away from the limelight.)

My childhood made me into the caring adult that I am. I love to care for others and to make sure that everyone around me is happy ... whether it's my own family, or friends. I love taking care of people. I feel it's my gift.

In doing so, and being a person who prefers living in the background, I find it difficult to demand attention when I need it. Fortunately I have a husband who loves to shower me with attention and makes me feel like the centre of his universe.

I'm a stay-at-home mom who has spent the last 21 years seeing to all the needs of my family. My whole life has been defined in that way, and now that they are older, and they don't need me in the same way I'm struggling with my changing identity. When I'm out meeting other adults, I cringe when the converstion turns to "what do you do?" because as soon as I say that I'm a stay-at-home mom I'm almost immediately dismissed from that point forward.

Over the past couple of weeks I've been having a conversation with a very wise friend who totally understood what I meant when I said that I felt invisable a lot of the time. She has felt it too. She told me "it was just assumed that I didn't have any needs, cause I was so good at looking after everyone else's. (I had to) learn how to get my voice, and speak my truth."

...so that's where I am ... trying to learn how to get my voice ... and trying to learn how to share my needs with those around me (and not just waiting for them to see it for themselves) ... but more importantly, allowing them to actually take care of me for a change.

Today

2011-11-07T13:59:00.000-05:00

outside: it's overcast, but it's likely one of the last warmer days of 2011. I really should get outside and take advantage of doing some work while it's warm.
thankful: for a very dear, and wise friend who has given me a lot to ponder lately
learning: that it's OK to put myself first sometimes
eating: too many bad things right now - time to get back into some good habbits
wearing: comfy fall clothes - jeans, a t shirt, a hoodie ... and barefeet
creating: trying to create a household planner - because it speaks to my need for feeling organized
feeling: motivated to get some projects done around here
going: out shopping with the girls tomorrow
wanting: a stone wall in the bathroom
needing: feeling very blessed that I'm in need of nothing
planning: some home renovation projects
wondering: what's wrong with my back lately
loving: our new kitty - Suki
anticipating: the coming Christmas season already
sharing: an old picture that makes me smile of my grandmother camping ... in a dress.

Use Your Stuff

2011-11-05T08:50:00.000-04:00

I'm a little behind in sharing my challenge layouts for the challenge blog so I'm going to get caught up all at once.

Challenge 5 was to play with blocks in the way of blocking our photos.
my layout:

Challenge 7 was a colour combination challenge. The colours were orange and turquoise.

my layout:

Challenge 8 was to get out our punches and play with them. I don't have a lot of punches but one I do have, and love to use, is the notebook punch.

My layout:

There. I feel better now. I'm all caught up in sharing my challenge layouts.

If you are looking for some inspiration to get your creative juices flowing, head over to the Use Your Stuff Challenge Blog and get creating. Don't forget to link your finished layout up to the challenge post for everyone to see. We've love to have you join us. ...and it's still not too late to get your layout in for a chance to win a prize.

Friday Fragments

2011-11-04T10:09:00.000-04:00

November is here. How did that happen?
What is it about November that makes me feel the urge to do some major work done around the house - like painting the basement, clean the carpets, tile a bathroom - it looks like I have some major work ahead of me in the next few weeks
Suki has settled in nicely. She is spending more time out every day just cuddling, playing, and exploring. Just now she has discovered the fish tank.
A lot of our time right now is taken up with bands ... whether it's practise, concerts, or running here and there for practises and concerts. I'm just glad that Spencer is driving and can drive him and Cameron to DYB. Tomorrow we have to go all the way up to Huntsville for a High Rendition gig.
I had a very therapeutic conversation with a friend a couple of weeks ago about how I need to learn how to be a little more selfish and learn how to put my own needs and wants first sometimes instead of always trying to make sure everyone else is happy. Hmmmm ... how to find the balance?
Sometimes, OK alot of times, I feel so invisable
I'm looking forward to having all my chicks back in the nest tonight ... everyone together. It's been over a month since we've had dinner together. I can't wait. Everyone's favourite - fajitas. I miss having everyone all home for dinner together

Friday Fagments can be found here.

Use Your Stuff

2011-11-02T09:52:00.000-04:00

This week, over on the Use Your Stuff challenge blog, you're challenged to dig out all those left-over, small embellishments that never get used.
My layout for this challenge is here:

There's a bonus for this challenge. When you complete it, link it to This Post for your chance to win a prize. Every layout linked will be put into a draw for a prize. So, get out those little embellishments and get those pictures into your books.

Our new addition

2011-10-31T12:28:00.001-04:00

Last week Cameron and I wanted to go to the Humane Society to start our search for our new addition, but unfortunately they're closed to the public right now because of a ring worm outbreak. Instead, we went to a couple of different Pet Smarts - to their adoption centre. If I could have, I would have adopted them all, but we couldn't find one that seemed like a good fit for our family.
I spent the next few days looking on Kijiji for people who were looking for homes for their cats. On Thursday a listing went up and she seemed perfect for us. The owners needed to find a new home for their cat as she was being picked on by their dogs and was hiding all the time. I responded right away asking for more information. After a couple of emails back and forth we decided to go up to meet her and her owners to make sure we (us, them, and the cat) all liked each other. We came home with her.

Meet Suki. She is two years old, and has such a sweet temperment. She loves to play and is very affectionate.

She's still a little timid, and skittish as she's getting used to 5 new people and a lot of new sounds, but she is quickly worming her way into all of our hearts.

Saturday morning funny!

2011-10-29T08:59:00.000-04:00

I'm so glad that John has no interest in Scrapbooking. LOL!

Use Your Stuff

2011-10-26T14:59:00.000-04:00

I've been trying to get caught up on the Use Your Stuff challenges. Three weeks ago Joy posted a challenge to do a layout with your own picture on it and 25 random facts about yourself.
Do you know how hard that is? It took me a long time to come up with them.
When I did, I decided to do my layout in the form of a Smash Book Page.

I'm really loving these challenges - and playing in my Smash book.

October Design Team Reveal

2011-10-24T08:52:00.000-04:00

This month marks the 6th month for the current Design Team at the Scrapping Bug. It also marks the end of our term. A new team is taking over in a week.

When I started it was all so new to me and something I'd never really done before .... certainly not on that scale. However, I enjoyed it. The kits I was given were great and some of them really forced me out of my comfort zone ... which was a bonus for me. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to work with the current team and the staff at the Bug. They are all great ladies.

I'm looking forward to seeing what the new team creates and looking forward to being inspired by their talent. One of them is my friend, Joy, who is an amazing scrapbooker so I know it's going to be good. Joy is also one of my fellow Creative Contributors on the Use Your Stuff Challenge Blog so go check out some of her stuff there, as well as on the Scrapping Bug.

On to the layouts that I came up with for my kit. I have to say that the Scrapping Bug has really given us great kits and this one was no different. I had a variety of paper to play with from Simple Stories Happy Day line, We R Memory Keepers, Pebbles in my Pocket. I also got some chipboard shapes, Zing embossing powders and some rub ons. Fun!!

You @ 15

supplies:

patterned paper - Simple Stories Happy Day ( Let's Party, Make a Wish#
- Pebbles in My Pocket - Twitterpated #Giddy#
-We R Memory Keepers - Twirl #Bowtie)
Stamps - unknown
Embossing Powder - Zing
Clocks - Making Memories
word stips - 7 Gypsies

Sweet!

supplies:

patterned paper - Simple Stories Happy Day Collection (Let's Party, Make a Wish, 4x6 journaling Card Elements#
-We R Memory Keepers - 72 and Sunny
-Fancy Pants - Fancy True #Devoted#
-Scrapworks Canvas Collection #Citrus Flourish)
-We R Memory Keepers - Bow ties
Kaiser Kraft Rub Ons
Bling - Imaginesce
Cricut Font - Base Camp
Misc Beads

Time to Party

supplies:

Pattterned Paper - Simple Stories Happy Days (Make a Wish, Let's Party
-Scrapworks Canvas Collection -Citrus Flourish
-We R Memory Keepers Bowties
Kaiser Kraft Rub Ons
Bling - Imaginesce
Zing Embossing Powder - chocolate
Misc. Stamps

2 Boys Altered Frame

supplies:
Patterned paper - Pebbles, Twitterpated collection (giddy)
- Simple Stories, Happy Day
Maya Road chipboard shapes
Zing Embossing Powder - chocolate

Don't forget to stop by The Scrapping Bug online to see what the other Designers created with their kits. While you're there, register for the forum and do a little shopping (the prices are great and so is the selection.

Week re-cap

2011-10-23T18:21:00.000-04:00

Looking back:
It's the end of another week, and boy, what a busy one it was for me.
-It took me about three days to get all the laundry done from those of us who were on the cruise, and the one who stayed behind (who must have wore every item in his wardrobe!)
-John flew right from Baltimore to Chicago and then came home Wednesday night so it was pretty busy for him too.
-Michele and I finally found and booked a house for our girls week vacation for next September. It was a real challenge this year, but we did it. Lots of phone time, and email time between the two of us this week. I know the girls are going to love it.
-there was a parents meeting this week for this year's Robotics Team at the high school. Cameron wants to join again. It looks like January, February, and March are going to be very intense for him again
-Matt and I went up to the trailer for the day on Friday to get it closed ... long overdue. The weather held off for the most part so we could get the work done. I hate closing the trailer.
-Friday night the girls went out for dinner. Fun!
-we had a Band Trip this weekend for our band. We went to Picton. It was a great concert last night and then we all went to the camp there to stay over. We stayed up way too late playing Empire. I think the last game ended somewhere after 1 am. I'm exhausted now, but it was a good weekend.

Looking ahead:
-Cameron, Matthew and I are going to the Humane Society tomorrow. It's been almost 6 months since Oliver has passed away and now that we're all back home, settled after the summer and vacation, it's time to start our search for a kitty. We're wanting to adopt a rescue kitty if we can. It's going to be so hard to find a kitty as sweet as Oliver was.
-lots of cleaning and organizing to get done this week.
-I also need to clean some carpets after Oliver, before another one comes to live with us
-Band fund-raiser next weekend - a Hoe Down on Saturday night - anyone want to come?
-hopefully getting together with Deb this week to do some catching up

The Cruise

2011-10-17T22:22:00.000-04:00

Our week away was fantastic. It flew by so fast. Matt kept walking around today saying "I miss being on the ship" and I had to agree with him.

On the Friday we started out early in the morning, just the three of us - John, Matt and I. Spencer and Cameron were supposed to be going with us just for the weekend and then returning with their cousin on the Sunday, but Spencer had a mid-term on Friday late afternoon. (really - who schedules a mid-term on Friday, late afternoon of the Thanksgiving long weekend?) So, Spencer and Cameron ended up staying home.

After stopping in Grove City to do a little outlet shopping, we made it to Fairfax, Virginia around 6 p.m. with just enough time to check into the hotel, wash and change, and make it to the rehearsal dinner. Afterwards, we went back to the hotel and crashed because we had to be up bright and early the next morning for the wedding.

Jon and Maggie's wedding (Jon is my nephew) was beautiful and they looked so happy. I love spending time like that with family. I don't get to see my brother David all that often and it was so good to spend a little time with them.

The happy couple:

The other Happy Couple:

Not everyone in the family was able to make it to the wedding, but Ricky did. He looked so handsome in his suit. I know he enjoyed being around the family, but I think his favourite part of the day was eating a half litre of icecream!

When the wedding was over we drove to Baltimore and the next morning we were up bright and early again to get to the Cruise Port. 11 of us boarded the Carnival Pride setting sail for Bahamas.
Ethan and Owen love to pose for the camera.

Cathy, myself and Mom having lunch and waiting to get into our cabins.

We had a balcony room - Matt, John and I were together. They were fairly large in comparrison to what we had the last time we cruised.

We stayed on our deck to watch the departure (and to unpack and settle in.)

The next two days we spent at sea. The first day was pretty overcast and it ended up raining late afternoon. Matt didn't mind. He found a nice cozy spot in one of the lounges where he could plug his laptop in and play his game. He made good use of this spot all week.

That night was our first of two formal nights and so we took advantage of that and ate in David's Steakhouse. The food was great ... the desserts to die for.

Doesn't my boy clean up well? His Dad isn't too shabby either.

The weather that afternoon and evening wasn't great. We hit a storm that was moving north from Florida and the ocean was pretty rough. We ended up with three sea-sickened casualties in our group - fortunately we weren't among them.

The next day, our second sea-day, was beautiful - sunny and warm. We spent the day around the pool, reading, swimming (well, some swam, not me) and catching some rays.

That evening we discovered these tables in the back of the diningroom. We ended up here every night after that. The wait staff assigned to these tables were so much fun. Matt looked forward to seeing them every night ... one in particular I think.

Our third full day was in Cape Canaveral, Florida. We arrived around 7 a.m. After an early breakfast, we disembarked and spent the day at the Kennedy Space Center.

We even found the Canada-arm.

Around 10 a.m. on the fourth day we were in Nassau, Bahamas. Everyone did their own thing that day. John, Matt, my Mom and I got day-passes to the Hilton Hotel and spent the day just relaxing on the beach and pool. It was heavenly! I think it was the best day of the whole cruise.

Day 5 we were in Freeport. There wasn't a lot to do in port there so we used this as a shopping day. We took a cab to Lucaya Market where we spent a couple of hours shopping in the shops and, Matt's favourite, the straw market. I think this was one of Matt's favourite days (well, maybe Cape Canaveral was his favourite, but this would have come second.) He loved shopping in the straw market. He bought lots - two things for Spencer, two things for Cameron and a few things for himself including a "rolex" watch which he purchased the day before in Nassau but had it adjusted in Freeport. He loved bartering and was pretty good at it - better than I am, that's for sure.

Our last day was a sea-day and we just spent it relaxing. We spent just about the whole day out on the Serenity Deck, which was the adults-only "retreat" when we weren't at the other pool watching Ethan and Owen swim.

So, I would have to say that I agree with Matt - I miss being on the ship. We all had a great time. As much as I wish Spencer and Cameron were able to be there with us, it was great for Matt (who, as most of you know, has Nonverbal Learning Disorder) to have both John and I all to himself for the week. He did really well, socially (for Matt.) He enjoyed being with everyone and was loved to go to the dining room and joke with the wait staff.

In just a few short hours ...

2011-10-09T09:41:00.000-04:00

.... we'll be here:

We will be boarding the Carnival Pride in Baltimore and sailing to the Bahamas.

There will be 11 of us from my family ... but not Spencer and Cameron who have to stay behind because of school.

See you in a week ... ish.

My New Toy

2011-10-05T09:43:00.000-04:00

A couple of months ago, my friend, Joy, made a Silhouette SD and was telling me all about it. At the time I was a very loyal Cricut user and thought that I had no need for a Silhouette. Then she uttered those three little words to me that I was dying to hear ...
"Print and Cut."

That did it. I was sold.

She pointed me in the right direction - EBAY. I made my purchase - $189 all in - no tax, no delivery - and best of all, no duty because I was timing it to be delivered while I was in the US.

A couple of weeks ago when I was in Michigan for the week I stalked the Fed Ex truck. Finally, my new toy arrived.

The best part of the whole thing (other than getting it) was that Joy was right there with me, to show me how to install it and give me my own personal silhouette lessons. (at least the start of the lessons - I know there will be more to come.)

I'm loving it. I'm loving the print and cut function. I just sent the image to my printer and then put it through the silhouette and it cuts it all perfectly. I'm also loving the fact that when I need an embellishment for a layout that I don't have, I can just do to the online store and search and purchase and use immediately.

I used it on this Fall layout. The tree, owl and all the leaves were all printed and cut through the silhouette and my printer. I'm very impressed! It cuts perfectly!

I won't be getting rid of my cricut because I still love the cartridges I have and the pieced die cuts they do, but it may not be getting as much action as it use to.

October Sneak Peek

2011-10-02T15:39:00.000-04:00

I have to say that the Scrapping Bug has really given us great kits and this one was no different. I had a variety of paper to play with from Simple Stories Happy Day line, We R Memory Keepers, Pebbles in my Pocket. I also got some chipboard shapes, Zing embossing powders and some rub ons. Fun!!

Here's my sneak peek for this month.

Friday Fragments

2011-10-01T10:14:00.000-04:00

...done first thing Saturday morning - oh well.

* I finally got everything unpacked after my trip. It caused me to reorganize some things in my scraproom so it was a longer process than it needed to be, but I feel much better now. It's so nice having everything unpacked and put back where it should be after being packed up for the last 4 months. I see lots of scrapping in my future.

*Cameron had a great opportunity this week. He was asked to play with another high school who was invited to play the National Anthem with Classified at the Me to We Day at the Air Canada Centre. I didn't know much about Me to We before that, but I must say, I've very impressed. What an inspirational event ... one that he's still talking about. Check it out here: Me to We Day. I'm jealous with all the celebs he got to listen to.

*We're looking forward to our next vacation in a week. It feels like I'm a jet -setter these days. Next weekend in my nephew's wedding down in Virginia. Afterwards we're going to drive to Baltimore and get on the Carnival Pride and sail to the Bahamas with 10 other family members. It's going to be so much fun and so relaxing. I can't wait.
I'm feeling a little overwhelmed with everything I need to do in the next 6 days to get us all ready to go.
Spencer and Cameron won't be going on the cruise since they have school. The plan was that after the wedding they will drive back home with their cousin, James. Grandma will be here with Cameron and Spencer will carry on back in Waterloo. Unfortunately that plan my unravel as Spencer has a mid-term on Friday until 6 p.m. Really! 6 p.m. right before the Thanksgiving long weekend!!!! So, unless he can get it changed, he and Cameron will be staying home and not going to the wedding.

*Cameron is looking forward, as we all are, to adopting a new cat. We said that after the trip we would start looking for our new addition. I'd like to adopt a rescue kitty.
I still miss Oliver!

Well, that's it for me for now.

Go visit Friday Fragments to share your own fragments.

I love these videos

2011-09-30T09:00:00.000-04:00

and I know all my fellow Salvationist will too. Check it out.

Use Your Stuff

2011-09-29T20:49:00.002-04:00

Have you checked it out yet? It's been running for 4 weeks now and we're having fun challenging, inspiring, and motivating each other.

Last week's challenge was a colour challenge: use the colours orange, pink, yellow, green, and blue. What better colours for beach layouts?
Here's my layout for that challenge

This week's challenge is to use spray mists. I have to admit that spray mists scare me so this was a good challenge for me. It forced me to get out the mists that I had to have, and to play ... and I loved it.
I didn't spray my background (that still makes me very nervous. (I think it's just too random for my liking.) Instead, I misted the chipboard letters and circle with two different colours - an orange and a brown. I also put orange mist on a sponge and inked the edges of the layout and the journal strips. I loved the result - it shimmers (but you can't tell from the photo).

Do you want to be motivated to get scrapping again? Come over to Use Your Stuff and get scrapping. Add your link to your finished projects. We'd love to see them.

The Scrapping Bug - September Reveal

2011-09-29T08:48:00.000-04:00

It's time again for another Design Team reveal.

This month I got to play with a lot of pink! Talk about working out of my comfort zone ... but I have to say it was fun. In my kit were papers from the Echo Park Victoria Gardens line, Jilly Bean Soup, and Dream Street. I also had some ribbons, some quick kuts border die cuts, and some Maya Road products. What a fun kit!

Beach Babes

Girly Girl or Tom Boy

supplies:
patterned paper - Jilly Bean Soup - Grandma's Christmas Soup (Chives#
- Echo Park - Victoria Gardens #Rose)
-Dream Street Papers - Pompeii
Cricut Fonts - Opposites Attract
- Jasmine
Ribbon - The Scrapping bug
Cardstock - Basil
Quick Kuts border

Because of Her

supplies:
paper - Echo Park - Victoria Gardens (Cheerful words, garden trellis, rose)
Letters - Prima
embellishments - Fancy Pants
Ribbon - The Scrapping Bug

supplies:
Chipboard tabbed album - Maya Road
paper - Jilly Bean Soup - Grandma's Christmas Soup
Ribbon - The Scrapping Bug
Sheer Journaling Spot - Maya Road

You've got to go and check out what the other Design Team members created with their kit. It's so inspiring. You can find them here: The Scrapping Bug and while you're there why not join in the fun on the forums and do a little shopping in the fabulous online store.

So tired

2011-09-28T19:53:00.000-04:00

I've been back from my annual girl's week for almost a week now, but I'm still trying to play catch-up on my sleep.
It was a fun week away. If you're a scrapbooker and haven't been to Memories Manor yet, you're missing a real treat. It's fantastic and so is Jan, the lady who owns and runs it. The food and hospitality are second to none!
As always, we spent more time talking, eating and laughing than we did scrapping and the time went way too fast. Now we have to wait a whole year before our next trip and the search has already begun for our vacation destination for next year.

and we're off

2011-09-14T09:22:00.000-04:00

We're off today on our annual girls' vacation. This is our 6th year. Wow! So many great trips, and I know this one will be equally as good.

We usually hit the road and drive for a long time to get to our destination: Quebec City, Tennessee, Virginia Beach, Maine, The Jersey Shore. But this year, it will feel like we're just heading down the highway.

This year we're going to St. Clair Michigan to here:

It's called Memories Manor. I know so many people who have been here and everyone raves about it so I'm excited to be able to see for myself what it's all about.

We have the whole place to ourselves for the week. Are we spoiled or what?

Week two on the Challenge Blog

2011-09-12T13:34:00.000-04:00

Thgis week's challenge is to use a tool, or product in a way other than it's original intent.

I did this fun, 50s layout. The pictures are from our girls' trip last year. Our meal team did a 50s Diner theme. It was so much fun.

I used my paper crimper to make the "accordion flower" on the right side of the page.

Come on over to the Use Your Stuff blog and play along.

Behind on my sharing

2011-09-10T11:15:00.000-04:00

I'm going to just do this all in one post - the layouts for the Scrapping Bug for August and the sneak peek for September.

August:
I had a very fun kit this month. I had an assortment of patterned papers from Basil Basics and Jilly Bean Soup. I aslo had a stamp from Imaginesce, Color Box Chalk, an assortment of buttons, and Maya Road Sheer Arrow Coasters.

The September sneak peek:

To see what the other girls came up with visit the Scrapping Bug website and while you're there, join in on the fun.

Randomness

2011-09-09T11:23:00.000-04:00

In an effort to kick start my blogging again, and to try and get back into a blogging routine I'm getting back on the Thursday Thirteen band wagon. I know, I know, today is Friday, but, well, too bad.

So, here are thirteen random thoughts and happenings around my little personal space:

1. as usual, the end of the summer for me means a house that is extremely disorganized, dirty, and neglected. I finally feel like I'm starting to make headway and that things are finally finding their homes again.

2. All this in time for me to take my anual girls' trip away for a week, which means all my hard work this week is about to be undone.

3. This year we're not going too far from home ... just 4 hours down the highway to St. Clair Michigan. We're going to spend a week at Memories Manor. I've heard raves reviews so I'm looking forward to it.

4. Back to school week has gone off without a hitch ... but then it's so much easier than it used to be. Now I just have one in school who has started grade 10 already. This was the first time I ever remember that he was actually looking forward to school.

5. Spencer just started his second year of university so last weekend we moved him in with 4 other friends into a house. Let's hope there aren't too many distractions for the studying.

6. Matt's had an interesting couple of days. He was still working part-time at Tim Horton's and he was hired on for a gas station. Through no fault of his own he ended up with a scheduling conflict and to make a long story short, his boss at Tim's ended up going to her superior to get approval to get him more hours to make it 34 hours a week so that he would stay with them and quit his other job. This is huge for him since he has Nonverbal Learning Disability and struggles with social interactions. It's reassuring for us to see that he's doing well in his job - so much so that his boss fought to keep him.

7. I'm still doing the Design Team over at The Scrapping Bug. I've been enjoying it.

8. My thoughts are with my neice and my two great-nephews right now. Their beloved dog was hit by a train a couple of days ago. I know they're devasted. Pets are such a big part of our families. Charlie was such a nice dog!

9. I still miss our Oliver and it's been over three months. We'll be looking for a new fur-baby when we get home from our vacation in October. Cameron can't wait. Everytime we pass a pet store he has to do in and spend at least a half an hour playing with the kitties.

10. Too much trash on TV these days - just saying!

11. John and I have both reached our goals in the 17-day diet. I reached mine back in June since I just had a goal of 10-15 lbs. John has lost 35!!!!! He looks great. The Diet is so easy to follow. I would recommend it to anyone.

12. Our goal now is to maintain our healthy eating (which was more difficult for me while I was at the trailer this summer and was just with Cameron. bad habits were sneaking back in.)

13. Now that fall is here he have a lot of big and small projects to do around the house. Big projects that will require us hiring a contractor, and smaller projects which will keep me busy for quite a while.

If you want to participate in Thursday Thirteen or see others who have, go here: http://thursday-13.com/

So it starts!

2011-09-05T17:20:00.000-04:00

Go visit the new challenge blog. Use Your Stuff.

The first challenge is up. It's an ad challenge.
Use this ad:

and come up with your own layout, card, project.

Here's my take:

Go check out Use Your Stuff to see what the others came up with and to show what you created as well. Join in the fun!

Summer is coming to a close with some fun news

2011-09-02T21:42:00.000-04:00

Yes, I'm still around. It's been a bit of a busy summer with the last three weeks relaxing a little more at the trailer. I had every intention of blogging while I was at the trailer, but due to internet issues it just wasn't possible ... not that I needed to spend anymore time on my computer this summer than I already did!

Anyway, now that I'm home, and starting to get things organized again, I promise I'll be back to posting regularly again.

Now for the fun news. If you're a scrapbooker, you may be interested in this. I will be participating in a challenge blog along with three very fun and talented scrapbookers. You can check it out here: Use Your Stuff.
While you're checking it out, bookmark it, or add it to your google reader. Each Monday a new challenge will be posted (starting on Labour Day). When you complete your challenge and post it online, you can add your link to Mr. Linky at the bottom of the post so we know where to find it. We'd love to see what you come up with because we love to be inspired!

The Scrapping Bug - August Sneak Peek

2011-08-12T10:41:00.001-04:00

Yes, I'm a little behind in sharing again. Here's my sneak peek for August.

I had a very fun kit this month.

I had an assortment of patterned papers from Basil Basics and Jilly Bean Soup.

I aslo had a stamp from Imaginesce, Color Box Chalk, an assortment of buttons, and Maya Road Sheer Arrow Coasters which I've used on my other projects to be revealed later.

To see the sneak peeks from the other Design Team members, go and visit The Scrapping Bug.

While you're there, join in the fun.

There's a very fun contest that's just starting where you can win some fun prizes.

Laugh for Today

2011-08-11T10:38:00.001-04:00

A friend had this posted on Facebook. It made me LMDO so I had to knew I had to share it here.

MIDDLE AGE TEXTING CODES: ATD -at the doctor. BFF -best friend fell. BTW - bring the wheelchair . BYOT -bring your own teeth. FWIW -forgot where I was. GGPBL -gotta go, pacemaker battery low. GHA -got heartburn again. IMHO -is my hearing aid on? LMDO -laughing my dentures out. OMMR -on my massage recliner. ROFLACGU -rolling on floor laughing and can't get up. TTYL -talk to you louder! Repost to share a laugh!

Myrtle Beach

2011-08-10T10:29:00.000-04:00

Our second week of vacation was spent in Myrlte Beach.

We stayed in a very small one-bedroom condo (if that's what you can call it) in Compass Cove.

It was small, dingy, and a little on the run-down side, but since we spent most of your time out, it suited our purposes.

That being said, I don't think we would ever rent there again.

Our condo was on the 15th floor so it was way up ...

...but it had a nice view.

We spent a lot of time out on the beach.

Fortunately it wasn't as hot as Tennessee, but it was still hot - hot enough for me to actually go in the water.

Other than relaxing on the beach we spent a lot of time at the Nascar Speed Park.

It made sense for us to get a 30 day pass because it was only $10 more than a daily pass and it meant that we could come back all week.

We also spent our time playing mini golf, and shopping.

We discovered a very cool place where you can go in and build your own remote controlled car.

Cameron was in his glory!

Then it was time for the long drive home!

Now we're home. It was a long drive and it felt so good to pull into the driveway.

It feels so good to be home ... until Thursday when I'll be leaving for the trailer.

Tennessee

2011-08-05T11:01:00.000-04:00

Our week in Tennessee was great! The weather was hot ... very hot ... and humid!

The only time it really rained all week was at night and on our first day there ... when we were half way up a trail on our way to see Grotto Falls.

After the initial "oh no, my hair!" (which only people with curly/frizzy hair can truly understand) I didn't mind because it really cooled us down.

We managed to pack in a lot during the week. We did a lot of hiking, mostly in to see waterfalls.

We also did a lot of scenic drives. It's such gorgeous country there.

We managed to squeeze in some time for just relaxing around the pool at the cabin resort.

This made me very happy: a budding photographer and a couple fo the pictures he captured (he was learning about aperature and shutter speed).

I think I need to pass the camera off to him more often.

We did some horseback riding, and our favourite time of the whole vacation was ziplining.

We had a great time in Tennessee.

We're now at the end of our second week of vacation which was spent in Myrtle Beach.

Watch for that in my next blog post.

While we've had a good time, I think we're all ready to get back home.

I miss Matt and Spencer, even though I've called them everyday.

July Scrapping Bug Reveal

2011-08-02T10:07:00.000-04:00

Yes, I know. I'm a little late getting this up since it happened over two weeks ago.

Did I ever have a lot of fun products to work with for that month: Papers from October Afternoon, Jenni Bowlin, and Bella Blvd., Bo Bunny chipboard, Stix 2 beads, and some twill (?) ribbon.

My kit really made me think.

You've already seen this one - it was my sneak peek for the month.

Playtime

supplies:
paper - October Afternoon - Fly a Kite - Fireflies
- Bella Blvd - Camped Out
- Jenni Bowlin - red tiny dot
Letters - Cricut - beads on top
Beads - Stix 2 (used on the title)
numbers - Basic Grey
chip board photo corner - Bo Bunny

Storytime
supplies:
paper - October Afternoon - Campfire - Bear Bell
- October Afternoon - Campfire - Sleeping Bag
letters - Thickers
Beads - Stix 2 (used on the arrows and the brads)
Chipboard arrow - Bo Bunny
Owl - cricut
other embellishments - Crate Paper

Boys Love to Fish

supplies:
paper - Basic Grey - Figgy Pudding - Balsam
- October Afternoon - Campfire - Sleeping Bag
- Bella Blvd - Camped Out
- Jenny Bowlin Studio - Navy Tiny Dot
letters - Basic Grey
- other chipboard unknown
Beads - Stix 2 (beads are strung on wire and used as a border across the top of the pictures)
Chipboard circle - Bo Bunny
embellishments - Fancy Pants - Beach Bum

And my altered project

S'more treat bag

supplies:
paper - October Afternoon
letters - Basic Grey
beads - Stix 2
embellishments - American Crafts

You've got to check out the what the other very talented ladies came up with using their kit. You can find them here: The Scrapping Bug Forum. While you're there you should register and join in on the fun. There's lots there to keep you inspired, or to just browse. We'd love to have you.

My July ... and what has kept me from my blog!

2011-07-31T17:03:00.000-04:00

Can you believe that July is history already? I usually look forward to a more relaxed summer, but I just haven't really had any time to catch my breath yet ... Ok, well, maybe a few days sprinkled here and there.

July 1 - We spent the day at Queens Park in Toronto for their Canada Day festivities. Cameron's jazz band, High Rendition Jazz, were invited to play there in the afternoon. Since one of the trumpet players was away, Spencer played with them as a fill-in. I have to say I really enjoyed watching two of my boys playing side by side together like that. I don't think I could ever get tired of seeing that.

Later that day we went up to the trailer. John and Spencer were only able to stay for the long weekend, and Cameron and I stayed on for the week.

July 9 - we had to come home for another High Rendition gig on the 10th and then we went back up for a few more days.

July 13th it was back home for appointments, a meeting, organizing for the next three weeks, and trying to fit in a couple of lunch visits with friends.

July 16th was the start of Music Camp. Each year I volunteer as a cabin leader and music instructor. This year I had a cabin of 9 and 10 year old girls. The girls were great and all got along well together. With the minor exception of a night of tears caused by a BUG it was a successful week. I even had one camper who has Nonverbal Learning Disorder (among other things) so it was very interesting to see similarities to Matt.
Cameron was a Junior Faculty again this year and he had a blast. There were 5 Junior Faculty and they all got along really well and had so much fun together.
Can you believe I didn't take one photo? When I get a photo CD I'll try to post some pics.

July 23 - Music Camp ended at noon. After a short visit at the trailer to see my parents who are using it for a couple of weeks, and to repack some clothes, Cameron and I went home. We were only home long enough to organize Matthew and Spencer, repack some things, and grab John and then we were on the road again, headed for Tennessee.

July 24th we checked into our cabin rental (as seen below). We had a very nice relaxing week there. More on that later.

July 30th we left Tennessee and drove to Myrtle Beach where we will spend the next week, relaxing some more.

This is our view today:

Wish you were here!

Time to play catch-up

2011-07-29T11:54:00.000-04:00

We are here right now:

Staying in this cabin:

With this view:

Wish you were here!

I'll be back with more. I need to go and sit in that rocking chair!

Bug Design Team July Sneak Peek

2011-07-05T08:46:00.000-04:00

July 1st was the Bug sneak peek for the DT.
Wanna see mine?

I was given some fun, vintagey looking papers to work with from October Afternoon. I was also given some beads.

Yes, that cute little girl was me!

If you want to see what the other Design Team members are doing, you can check them out At The Scrapping Bug Board.

In other news, we're at the trailer right now. It's so nice to be able to relax a little. We bought an internet stick so I can stay connected during the summer months. Unfortunately, I can't seem to get a good connection there. So, it's going back and we will try our luck with a different service. Hopefully it will prove to be better.

Canada Day at Queens Park was great. The boys played really well. I'll get some pictures uploaded and share those in my next post.

Busy, busy, busy!

2011-06-28T21:45:00.000-04:00

I just have to keep telling myself "just a few more days". So much to do.
-camp paperwork to be done and faxed in
-camp training video training that has to be completed
-design team projects to finish and scan
-packing to do - lots of packing and organizing
-exam review day for Cameron tomorrow
-arrangments to be made for Canada Day - boys are playing at Queens Park - how exciting
-gardens need to be weeded, more mulch, and lawns need to be cut - oh, boys.....
-house needs to be cleaned
-pictures need to be edited and put on a stick and taken to Blacks
-grocery shopping for Matt who will be staying home this weekend
-a visit to Best Buy to purchase an internet stick so I can stay connected this summer
-a trip into Toronto to get Matt's laptop screen replaced after it was broke in a very unfortunate accident (that should not have happened - lessons learned!)
-a much needed visit to the Chiropractor

Whew! All this in a couple of days. Can I get it all done?

Today, was a much needed me day though. I was very happy to spend some time out scrapping, laughing, and lunching with a couple of my scrapping girls! What fun! We hope to be able to squeeze in another day like this over the summer months.

Who am I?

2011-06-27T09:51:00.000-04:00

In my blog-hopping this morning I was promted to check out this online questionaire. You know the kind ... the ones that tell you who or what you are (like you really need a questionaire for those.) Still, they can be fun to do. Sometimes the results are somewhat correct, sometimes very far from it.
So, this morning, I hopped over to an Oprah site and completed the questionaire. I have to say that I was surprised at just how accurate the results were.
So? Want to see?

YOU ARE STRIVING TO BE SECURE

You are a stabilizer: You are the rock in a storm, the one others lean on. Loyal and com-mitted in your relationships, you maintain a support system of like-minded people whom you look out for. (So what if you do it behind the scenes and don't get credit?) You're careful with money, cherish the familiar, and defend the traditions you care about.

What to watch out for: Rapidly changing environments (like a shaky economy) are very hard for you. As a result of such instability, you can spiral into a state where everything seems catastrophic and you're sure life will only get worse. You can also become overcontrolling, rejecting any suggestion that doesn't conform to your idea of the way things should be. To avoid being too rigid, each month try changing one habit. Exper-iment with clothes, drive a different way to work, initiate conversations about subjects you wouldn't normally discuss. And when the opportunity arises to do something new, avoid the impulse to immediately say no—this may be nerve-racking, but the more you practice, the less anxious you'll feel.

Looking ahead: You find meaning in pursuing safety and certainty. Focusing on family can give you great satisfaction. Also consider planting a vegetable garden, hosting class reunions, volunteering as a lifeguard, teaching at your church or temple. In the work arena, look for positions where you're responsible for others, and for making sure everyone is following the rules. You work well in any environment that is stable and consistent. Careers in government, finance, the military, law enforcement, and product manufacturing are strong options for you.

YOUR SCORES
Striving to help: 14
Striving to be recognized: 12
Striving to be creative: 12
Striving to be spontaneous: 10
Striving to be knowledgeable: 14
Striving to be secure: 15
Striving to be in control: 13

STRIVING TO HELP
You scored: 14

You are a nurturer: You are caring and supportive in your personal relationships as well as in your job. Unselfish and altruistic by nature, you often anticipate the needs of those around you before they are aware of them. If there is one thing that brings you satisfaction, it's tending to others.

What to watch out for: When you're doing things for people only to feel valued, you can become resentful. And if you sense that your help is not appreciated, you may end up playing the martyr. So before giving your time to everyone else, make sure to take care of yourself (physically, emotionally, and spiritually). And practice waiting until someone asks for help: While you may be able to perceive what a person needs, that doesn't mean she wants you to attend to it.

Looking ahead: It's important for you to be genuinely of service in acknowledged ways. Whether you foster a child, care for an elderly aunt, rescue animals, or support a rock star's career as her personal assistant, look for opportunities where you can help other people or bigger causes. Volunteer work has your name written on it, as do many careers: nursing, teaching, customer service, healing, social work. Don't feel pressured to run the company or lead the project; you may be even more effective as someone's right hand. And you'll likely find working with other people more meaningful than flying solo.

STRIVING TO BE KNOWLEDGEABLE
You scored: 14

You are an intellectual: As a leader, you're often ahead of your time. As an employee, you try to surpass the competence level of peers, even managers. Incisive and curious, you're driven to deeply understand how things work. But that's things, not people. Oh, your family and friends are important; it's just that you don't need to spend hours engaging with them. Social validation isn't your goal—you're secure enough in your cerebral pursuits.

What to watch out for: When you can't find a way to be the expert, you may withdraw or simply withhold information, which can make you seem smug or arrogant. If you feel yourself retreating into your own world, seek a friend's help to pull you back. Also balance your cerebral tendencies through physical activities like jogging, hiking, or dance.

Looking ahead: You discover who you are meant to be through accumulating insight and knowledge. So follow your curiosity. Are you drawn to learning Mandarin? Join-ing a philosophy society? Studying and practicing Buddhist meditation? Delving into the complexities of computer programming? Writing a historical book? Pursuits that place you near the leading edge of technology, science, psychology, academia, or business are good bets. But any situation that allows you to work independently with freedom to investigate and innovate will fuel your drive.

Do you want to check this out for yourself? You can find the test HERE. Come back and share your results with me.

The Scrapping Bug June Reveal

2011-06-15T09:46:00.000-04:00

I know, I know. I've been rather absent around here. What can I say?? The nice weather is here and there are other things that are keeping me occupied right now.

Today is reveal day for the Scrapping Bug Design Team.
This month I had some great products to play with and to create with and I had so much fun. For those who know me will see that these layouts are a little different from my usual style. Yes, it's true. I worked a little out of my comfort zone - but just a little. ...and I love the results!

The first one you've seen already.
Home Sweet Home

Paper - Crate Paper - Paper Doll Collection (Katie)

- Moon Pie Vintage Moon Collection

- Prima Reflections Collection

Transparency - Fancy Pants - The Scrapping Bug

Letters - Heidi Swapp

- Making Memories

Flowers - Petaloo - The Scrapping Bug

Stitching - We R Memory Keepers - The Scrapping Bug

Not Just a Father

paper - Prima Reflections Collection (Mantra)

- Imaginesce Kewl Stuff (Hot Spots)

The White background is white cardstock that was inked with glimmer mist from the Bug

Cardstock - Bazil

Lettering - Heat embossed

- Alpha brads - unknown

Stitching - Floss - We R Memory Keepers - The Bug

Envelope - Maya Road

Embellishments:

clock - Making Memories

Flourishes - unknown

Journaling Words - Dymo Labeller

Memories of Grandma

paper - Prima Reflections Collection (Goldoro and Mantra)

Title - Thickers - can be found at the Bug

- Making Memories small letter stickers

Paper Lace - K & Company

Envelope - Maya Road - can be found at the Bug

Flower - Petaloo - can be found at the Bug

Clock - Making Memories

Label Maker - Dymo

Altered Birdhouse

Supplies:

Paper - Prima Reflections Collection

- Moon Pie Vintage Moon collection

- Crate Paper - Paper Doll Collection

- Imaginesce

Flowers - Petaloo

Visit The Scrapping Bug to see what the other Design Team Ladies did with their kits. While you're there, register and join in on the chatting and the challenges. We'd love to have you.

A must hear interview on Nonverbal Learning Disorder

2011-06-01T20:43:00.000-04:00

Sera Rivers is the mother of a child with Nonverbal Learning Disorder. She did a radio interview on NLD. If you're interested in listening it's here. It's a long interview, but it's very informative. It really explains NLD like I've never heard before. I really wish I had of heard this years ago when we first got Matt's diagnosis.

Listen to internet radio with The Coffee Klatch on Blog Talk Radio

The Scrapping Bug June Sneak Peek

2011-06-01T09:40:00.001-04:00

Today is sneak peek day for the Scrapping Bug. Here's mine for June:

Supplies:

paper - Crate Paper - paperdoll collection
                                -Moon Pie - vintage moom collection
                                - Prima - Reflections collection
transperancy - Fancy Pants
Letters - Heidi Swapp letter stickers
            - Making Memories letter stickers
Flowers - Petaloo
Stitching - floss - W R Memory Keepers

I have to say that the kits we get from the Scrapping Bug are awesome!!! So much product and so fun to work with.

Yes, I'm still here ...

2011-05-29T20:51:00.001-04:00

...and I have no excuse for my lack of blog posts lately, except for the continued blog funk that I seem to be experiencing. I wonder if it has anything to do with the weather.

I guess there's also a lack of things to share here. Nothing overly blog worthy going on.

-we opened the trailer on the May long weekend. It felt so good to be up there again. The weather that weekend was supposed to have been rainy, but it ended up being a nice weekend. Matt had to work, and Spencer didn't want to go so it was just three of us. I don't think I'm liking this. It's going to take some adjustment.

-I can't believe how much I was/am still affected by Oliver's passing and how much we're missing him. He was such a sweet boy.

-John and I are still on the 17 Day Diet. We're on Day 45. I've reached my goal but I'm still trying to stay on it for John's sake who still has a way to go. He's lost over 20 lbs! I'll do a review of the Diet in a separate blog post.

-is anyone else really tired of all this rain? Matt and I managed to get the front gardens done last week on the only nice day we had. We still have the back to do. It looks like the weather is about to change so that's good news. I want to get back out to finish the back this week.

-John's sister-in-law passed away a couple of weeks ago. It was sudden and very sad.

-our annual family reunion was yesterday. I love getting together with family. We had a great time. Cameron was happy to get some fishing in and actually caught a couple of fish. He must have got a bug bite on his eyelid because now his eye is swollen almost shut.

-is anyone else tired of all the "Oprah says farewell" talk?? Is anyone else happy to see Oprah's show end? Since when did Oprah become god? how did that happen?

Even though I've been in a blogging funk, I've still been creating. I have lots of layouts cued up on my computer ready to share. Here's a couple:

This one is of Tobacco Bay in Bermuda from our cruise last summer. I used one of Alison Davis' sketches from her sketch book series. I really love those books!

This one is from this year's robot build. The robot is all bagged, tagged and ready for the competition in Rochester. Cameron is sitting on the fork lift that he and another student built to carry the robot.

The Scrapping Bug Reveal

2011-05-16T15:34:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was reveal day for the Scrapping Bug Design Team.

I had a very fun kit to play with.

I had a mixutre of papers to work with. They were from the Basic Grey "Life of the Party" line, Crate Paper "School Spirit Collection" and Bella Blvd "Man of the House" line. It was so much fun to work with these papers.
I also got to play with some Maya Mist for the first time!
I had a chipboard flower - the kind that come in pieces, which I decided not to use as a flower.
I was also given some string and some ribbon.
To that I added a sprinkling of embellishments - all of which can be found at the Scrapping Bug.

Grade 9

additional products

apple chipboard embellishment - Crate Paper
word strips - October Afternoon

Finally

Turning 13

Teacher Thank You

Life with Nonverbal Learning Disorder - Part Three

2011-05-13T13:20:00.000-04:00

Matthew Part One
Matthew Part Two

Matthew started school when he was four. At that time we had just moved to Barbados and within a month he started in the Beginner class (equivalent to our kindergarten) at a private school. He went half days and the Beginner class was quite structured. There wasn’t a lot of down time, or playtime, so he settled in quite well. His teacher was firm, but very kind - the perfect recipe for Matthew. With his advanced verbal skills and encyclopedia brain, he managed well. He made a couple of friends who he was able to spend time with outside of school on playdates. Even at that early age, he did much better socially when he was just with one other child, rather than a group – which proved to be quite overwhelming for him.

As he started to move up in the grades he began to struggle. Academically he did well in that system where they rely on a lot of rote knowledge. Socially he started to struggle and I found I was already starting to watch him like a hawk in social settings and trying to help him interpret (or more like just doing the interpreting for him) social interactions.

By the time he hit Junior 1 (equivalent to grade 3) we knew that something was wrong. He was showing signs of anxiety, he was being picked on by the other children (who were obviously not understanding his behaviour), he was becoming unable to focus in the classroom, and behaviourally it seemed as if he was being defiant. (this is classic for children with Nonverbal Learning Disorder due to the fact that they take things so literally, don’t read facial or body cues very well, or don’t pick up on the tone of voice.)

That Christmas, when we returned to Canada for Christmas, we took him to a doctor, who was recommended to us, for some testing. After spending two hours with us, the doctor was able to rule out Attention Deficit Disorder, but not able to determine anything further. He felt that he may have a language based learning disability as he said that Matthew was using words beyond his years, but he was using them inappropriately. We weren’t much further ahead. We knew that the language-based learning disability didn’t make sense to us since he was so strong in reading and comprehension, as well in writing.

We lived in Barbados for another two years where Matt continued to struggle. It was all a mystery to us. During our last year there we made the decision to pull him out of school and to send him to a friend who was homeschooling her own daughter. He was starting to get bullied at school (and the school had the view that boys will be boys), and he started to act our behaviourally (which now we know it was because he was suffering from so much anxiety.) Life for him at home was such a contrast. He was a happy, loving boy who tried so hard to do things right. He still talks fondly of those days when he used to go to school at Kelly’s.

Saying Goodbye

2011-05-10T21:11:00.000-04:00

Yesterday we said goodbye to our beloved Oliver.

Last week the vet was finally able to determine what was wrong with him. He had Intestional Lymphoma. He was in the end stages. She put him on Prednisone to help him feel a little better in the hopes of giving us a couple of weeks to say goodbye. We had 5 days ... for which we were very grateful.

He will be terribly missed by us all. He was such a sweet boy.

"Sneak Peek"

2011-05-05T08:53:00.000-04:00

May 1st was sneak peek day on The Scrapping Bug website.
A couple of weeks ago we were all giving a kit. Each of us were given different kits. I loved mine. I got a paper mixture of Basic Grey, Crate Paper and Bella Blvd. I also got some Maya Mist to play with - my first, and definately not my last.

With the kit we had to create three layouts and one altered project.

Sunday was sneak peek day where one of those layouts was released.

Check it out:

To see what the other team members came up with, check out The Design Team Reveals. While you're there, why not sign up for the board and join in the fun. Things are starting to hop over there.

So many thoughts...

2011-05-02T12:22:00.000-04:00

...so little time.
-Osama is dead. Wow. That one is still sinking in. It's been a long time coming but they finally got the job done.
-great Royal Wedding the other day. It was everything I thought it would be. So beautiful. I was away on a scrapping retreat this weekend and there were about 12 or so of us that got up early to watch it. It was so much fun.
-it was a great weekend away. I always love my time with the girls. Too much laughter, too much eating, and not near enough sleeping.
-Spencer started his job today. He was a little nervous this morning. I'm sure his nerves have eased by now.
-we're still working on planning our summer vacation. I need to get some things booked.
-John and I survived our first cycle of the 17 day diet. He's down 15 lbs and I'm down almost 9. I have one more to go to reach my target, he has a few more than that. I'm just happy that we get to add a few things to our diet now.
-Oliver (our cat) continues to decline. He's so thin. It's so hard to watch him go down hill. We may need to make a decision that we don't want to have to make soon.

-above all, my thoughts and prayers are solely on someone who is near and dear to me, who at this moment is going through some major health concerns and is having some tests done right now.

Big News!!

2011-04-18T10:24:00.000-04:00

I'm venturing into new territory.
I've been accepted onto the The Scrapping Bug Design Team!

This is my first real stint on a Design Team and I'm so excited! I can't wait to get going on this and meet everyone there.
Congrats to the other Design Team members too.

Today ...

2011-04-18T10:14:00.000-04:00

Outside my window...
It is dull, grey and cold. When is spring going to come and stay?

I am enjoying... having Spencer home for the summer.

I am wanting to ... take more pictures. I haven't been spending a lot of time with my camera these days and when I do, I'm quickly snapping pictures and not spending time taking good ones. I want to spend more time just playing around.

I am learning ...
how to let go. It's not an easy thing for me to do.

From the kitchen ...
I'm feeling a little frustrated. John and I are really trying to get back to a healthier way of eating. We've started the "17-Day Diet" this past week. We've been good about sticking to it, but it's been very hard not to eat carbs! I think we're both in carb withdrawal.

I am angry ...
that not everyone plays by the same rules.

I am creating...
layout packets, and sketch books are on the agenda for this week.

I am disappointed ...
that Cameron and I have to postphone plans that we've had for months. We've been looking forward to going to the Disney Movie "African Cats" on Earth Day. He's away this weekend so we will have to wait.

I am going...
grocery shopping today ... and I'd rather be doing just about anything else!

I am hoping...
for good results from medical tests for a family member.

I am needing...
to get started on some quilts that I'm making for the bunks in the trailer.

Around the house...
Spencer's stuff is scattered everywhere. We moved him home from University for the summer, and now we have to sort through everything and store it away somewhere.

A few plans for the rest of the week:
-Cameron is leaving on Wednesday with High Rendition Jazz for a trip to Washington DC to participate in the Jazz Festival there.
-doctors appointments
-the girls are coming over tomorrow to scrapbook
-I have some projects to get ready for an assignment
-get ready for a houseful of company for Easter on the weekend.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...
This picture makes me smile everytime I look at it. This is me and four of my siblings many, many years ago. Can you guess which one I am?

This is amazing!

2011-04-12T22:11:00.000-04:00

You have got to watch this, and watch it the whole way through!

Feeling in a bit of a Funk

2011-04-06T10:36:00.000-04:00

A blogging funk that is. Does anyone else get like this? Like you have nothing blog worthy going on? That you're just too tired to try and come up with something? Where it just seems like it's too much work? That's me this week. I know it will pass, it always does. For the couple of family members and couple of friends who actually check in here regularily ... please stand by.

In the meantime, here's the latest news and random thoughts from around here:

-the biggest news and excitment is that Spencer has been offered, and accepted a co-op job for the summer. It's in Toronto. I'll be happy to have him around more often again. Way to go Spencer!!
-and, good luck to him as he begins his final exams on Friday
-I've started back on the treadmill everyday. -OK, so maybe not everyday, but 5 times a week. I really am feeling the need to take better care of myself and to get back to a healthy lifestyle
-so then why did I make a chocolate cake the other day (telling myself it was a treat for my family) and then proceed to have three pieces since then? Please, will someone come over and finish it off so I don't keep looking at it all day because it's way to easy to justify eating it when I've burned some calories on the treadmill
-big weekend for the band this weekend.
-Cameron's jazz band is heading into the recording studio on Friday
-Oliver was feeling better after his round of antibiotics but now that they're done, I think he's starting to get sick again. The vet still can't say what's wrong with him. It could be a rare fungus???? He's starting to act a little strange too.
-vet bills are sooooo expensive. $700 later and we still don't have any answers.
-we had the teens from Church here on Sunday night. What fun, and what a great group of kids.
-I hate when my favourite TV station changes it's line-up. It really screws everything up for me.
-you can tell Sping is here. All the lawn services are calling.
-Today is a me day. I'm going for lunch with a good friend and going to a movie tonight with another one.
-I lost my pillow last summer and spent months afterwards trying to find a descent replacement to no avail. I don't know how many pillows I bought hoping it would be the right one. Finally, after having a headache (because of my neck issues) for at least two months, my chiropractor sold me a pillow that he uses. It's amazing!! I haven't woke up with a head ache or neck pain since I started using it!!!! I think I need to by a bright pink pillow case for it for when I travel so I don't leave it behind in a hotel - again!

OK. See ... not a whole lot blog worthy. Hopefully I'll be back soon with something a little more exciting. To my two or three faithful friends, please stand by!

2011-03-27T14:00:00.001-04:00

Cameron's Robotic Team participated in the "First Robotics Canada" regional competition on Saturday at the University of Waterloo. We went along to watch. We have never seen the robots in action before, nor did we really understand what it was all about. It was so much fun!!

The robots are on teams and the idea is that they have to race around and grab inflatables and put them on pegs. They get points according to how many they get up, and if they can do it in a certain order. When there is 10 seconds left in the race, they try and release a mini-bot from their bigger robot, onto a pole to climb to the top to set off a light.

Cameron's team did very well, inspite of the fact they had some technical issues. During two of the seed matches they lost their mini-bot as soon as the match started which caused them to get a penalty. Still, they were able to make it to the quarter finals when they were chosen for an alliance. Unfortunately that's as far as they made it.

I managed to get a video of his team's robot in the quarter final match.

It was so much fun to watch!! I think I could easily become a team groupie!

2011-03-26T11:45:00.001-04:00

One of the questions we're asked all the time when people find out that Matthew has Nonverbal Learning Disorder is when did we know something was wrong.

In short we started suspecting something when he began school at 4 years of age, althouh he wasn't diagnosed until many years later.

As a baby he was happy and healthy. There was no indication that he was cognitively any different than any other child his age at that time. He was an early talker and always amazed us with his vocabulary as a preschooler. He was inquisative, active, and loving but had a difficult time following rules and request making him seem like he was being defiant (although we seemed to know it wasn't defiance.)

At the age of 2 1/2 we started to get a glimps of anxiety. (screaming at a fall fair when we were watching bungee jumping and the person jumped, and at my sister's wedding when he started freaking out any time the photographer came close with the big lens.)

When he joined a part time preschool he seemed to struggle relating to the other children althouh he was never agressive or anything like that. He just seemed socially akward already. He had a couple of litle friends who he would play with one on one and did ok in those settings but looking back I was always around helping him navigate his environment (maybe mother's intuition.

Throughout his preschool years he was more successful wih interactions with adults and loved wowing them with all the knowledge that he seemed to retain in his little brain.

We all saw what a smart little boy he was.

Then, he started school ...

-posted from my iPod touch.

I've been procrastinating

2011-03-25T09:59:00.000-04:00

Yes, it's true. I've been very lasy this week and have been putting off posting an update.
We got back Monday afternoon from our trip to Mexico and I feel like I'm still in vacation mode.

Our trip was fantastic, although it felt so strange to go away with only one of the boys. Spencer has a different week off school, and Matt had to work, so Cameron had the benifit of being an only child for the week.

We went to the Mayan Riviera, and stayed at the Gran Bahia Principe. The resort was HUGE!!! There are three sections to it and we stayed in the Akumal section. Fortunately they had a tram system that would take us anywhere we wanted to go around the resort.

We did a lot of relaxing mixed in with some sight seeing. We spent a day touring the Mayan ruins, another day at a nature park where there was a lot of snorkeling, and went into Playa Del Carmen one evening to walk the streets and do some shopping.

Here are just some of the highlights of the week. The first picture is of Cameron and I all dressed up to go to dinner at one of the a la carte restaurants.

Cameron made a fast friend while we were there. He met this cat down by the beach bar one evening and spent some time with him. We were amazed when the cat found our room the next day and was meowing for him at the window. The following morning he was there again, and sat with Cameron like this for about an hour!

There were a lot of hammocks all over the place. So relaxing!

John and I at Tulum.

I couldn't get over all the Iguanas! They were everywhere and not too afraid of the people either.

We had the best week. I was a little nervous about leaving Matt at home by himself. I called and checked in every day (which was probably not necessary). He did well, and I know he loved having that independence for the week. He even managed to keep track of the days and make it to work on time, as well as taking care of our poor sick Oliver and getting his medication into him (which is a huge feat!)

Nonverbal Learning Disorder

2011-03-10T10:03:00.000-05:00

This is going to be a long one! Grab a cup of coffee and settle in.

This is an article that I found on Learning Disabilities Resourse Community Before going forward, I feel I just need to add that NLD (Nonverbal Learning Disorder) is an all-encompassing disorder that can be very dibilitating, and is a life-long struggle.

From an article by Patti Brace in L.D.A. of Kingston Winter 1998 Newsletter

Nonverbal learning disabilities are less well known than language-based learning disabilities such as dyslexia. Typically, people with nonverbal LD show:
- excellent memory for things they hear
- poor memory for things they see
- good reading ability
- very poor arithmetic ability
- excellent verbal expression and verbal reasoning
- problems with written expression (often because of poor handwriting)
- problems with sense of direction, estimation of size, shape, distance
- problems reading facial expressions, gestures, social cues, tones of voice

Nonverbal learning disabilities often go undiagnosed because reading ability tends to be regarded as the chief indicator of academic well-being by most public school systems. Because it has a pronounced effect on social interaction, as well as academic performance, nonverbal LD presents a unique challenge to parents, teachers and adult consumers.

The chief characteristics of nonverbal LD include:
- tactile-perceptual deficits, usually on the left side of the body;
- coordination difficulties, again often more marked on the left side of the body;
- problems with visual‑spatial organization;
- extreme difficulty adapting to new and complex situations;
- reliance on rote behaviours (which may or may not be appropriate) in new situations;
- trouble understanding nonverbal feedback in social situations;
- problems with social perception, social judgment and social interaction;
- distorted sense of time;
- very strong rote verbal abilities (e.g. large vocabulary);
- reliance on language as the primary means for social relating, information gathering and relief from anxiety;
- difficulties with arithmetic and, later, with scientific concepts and theories;
- inattention and hyperactivity earlier in childhood; and social withdrawal and isolation later.

When people with nonverbal LD are assessed, typically their performance IQ is significantly lower than their verbal IQ because of the visual-spatial weaknesses.
Young Children
Young nonverbal LD children tend to stray from home or groups and get lost easily. They often spill things at mealtime because of problems with motor coordination and have trouble dressing themselves for the same reason. Problems with spatial skills appear in weak understanding of nonverbal information (e.g. pictures, cartoons, passage of time) and nonverbal tasks like puzzles.

Many children with nonverbal LD use words in an adult fashion and learn to read before school age because of their auditory strengths. Thus, they often try to gain information about the world around them by asking endless questions of adults, rather than by exploring on their own. The inaccuracy of their visual perception, physical awkwardness and difficulty integrating information in space and time make it harder for them to make sense of the physical world. This compensation can compound the problem, however, for the less the child engages in physical exploration, the less s/he learns about relationships between objects in space.

Academic Issues
Students with nonverbal LD generally appear to possess above-average cognitive skills because of their verbal strengths, but often show academic difficulties as they reach secondary levels.

Spatial and coordination problems make printing and writing, learning math, telling time, reading and colouring maps and keeping their place on the page difficult from early grades. By high school, more complex verbal language is based on nonverbal processes like spatial relationships (in science, for example), logical ordering, and sequencing (both skills necessary for writing essays). This can cause problems in subject areas other than math. As well, students often experience difficulties with sense of time, arranging written material on a page, making change, and sewing and typing, all of which demand good spatial awareness.

Throughout the school years, kids with nonverbal LD are often inattentive and poorly organized because they have trouble integrating and interpreting incoming information. They tend to pay attention to each detail as it comes in, rather than combining them into more meaningful wholes. The effort quickly leads to information overload, with which these students will often cope by clinging to familiar habits and routines that help them to structure their world. Sometimes this adaptation appears as misbehaviour.

In later secondary and postsecondary education, information is frequently presented in lecture form. For students with nonverbal LD, problems arise because they have to integrate information they hear with the act of writing, already difficult because writing is often awkward and slow. As well, students who attend equally to individual details as they appear have enormous difficulty separating important from unimportant information.

Teachers can support students with nonverbal LD by outlining material to be covered, using overheads containing central points while lecturing, providing clear schedules of the day's events, breaking complex tasks down into smaller, sequenced pieces, using discussion rather than lectures to develop and integrate ideas, and using students' strengths in rote learning to help them develop habits and routines to organize themselves and their work.

Social and Emotional Issues
Possibly the biggest area of concern for children and adults with nonverbal LD is social skills. One result of having trouble processing nonverbal and spatial information is missing or misinterpreting subtle social cues, like facial expressions, gestures and tones of voice. For example, a phrase like "nice going" means something different when you've just dropped a ball or tripped over a skipping rope (again) than when you've gotten a perfect score on a spelling test. Confusing the two can spell "disaster" on the playground.

Unlike a student who has difficulty reading but does well with social and sports activities, students with nonverbal LD are affected in all areas. This can lead to social isolation, and kids will sometimes try to alleviate this by interacting only with adults, who are more appreciative of their verbal strengths and less concerned about physical awkwardness or violations of social conventions.

However, because children with nonverbal LD are highly verbal, parents and teachers tend to attribute their academic and social failure to laziness or poor character. This can lead to emotional problems like depression and anxiety that are expressed in internalizing ways (e.g. nail and cuticle biting, headaches, stomach problems, phobias).

Parents and teachers can help children with nonverbal LD learn more effective social skills by talking about social rules and playing games in which children guess the feelings that go with facial expressions and tones of voice (and figure out appropriate responses!). Friends and spouses of adults with nonverbal LD can help by pointing out social rules and articulating the information often carried by a look or a gesture.

Welcome to Holland

2011-03-09T18:00:00.001-05:00

I've been looking back over the many, many, many blog posts I've made. I got caught up in 2008 when I promised to share Matthew's story here. I think I did a couple of posts and then forgot all about it. I was torn between sharing his story and allowing him his privacy. I know how important it is for others who have children who have Nonverbal Learning Disorder, or similar disorders, to find other parents who have been there, or are still there. Knowledge is power. I wish that I had more information when Matt was in his younger years. I've been enjoying reading the blogs of others who have similar experiences. It's always helpful to know that you're not alone. It's also extremely important to get the information out there on what this disorder is and the huge impact it has on the individual and their loved-ones. Again, knowledge is power. It's so important for others to be aware of this invisable disability.

So, I've decided, once again with his blessing, to share Matthew's story.

I shared this poem in 2008 and I think it's a great way to set the stage again. It was a poem written by a mother who has a child with Down's Syndrome but it certainly speaks for all mothers who have children with challenges.

Welcome To Holland
by Emily Perl Kingsley©1987 by Emily Perl Kingsley.
All rights reserved.

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It’s like this……

When you’re going to have a baby, it’s like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It’s all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, “Welcome to Holland.”

“Holland?!?” you say. “What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I’m supposed to be in Italy. All my life I’ve dreamed of going to Italy.”

But there’s been a change in the flight plan. They’ve landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven’t taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It’s just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It’s just a different place. It’s slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you’ve been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around…. and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills….and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy… and they’re all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say “Yes, that’s where I was supposed to go. That’s what I had planned.”

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away…because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.

But… if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn’t get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things … about Holland.

Smash Book

2011-03-06T18:08:00.000-05:00

Check out this hot new product coming on the market in April. It's called Smash Book. How fun! I can't wait to get one and start playing.

Bits and Pieces...

2011-03-03T13:26:00.000-05:00

... Cameron is away right now with his school's Robotics Team for a competition. He is really loving every second that he is spending with the team. What a great bunch of kids. I miss him, but I don't miss his mess. I just hope he's keeping up on his school work while he's gone.
...dinnertime is very quiet this week with just three of us
...Benifits of Brass was this last weekend. It was a fund-raising concert for our band's work-team trip to Brazil next summer. I had some wonderful friends who came out and supported it ... and who sat right in the front and kept me amused the whole night.
...I've been sick with a cold this week, thanks to my wonderful husband who loves to give things to me. I think I'm on the mend now.
...we're off the the vet this afternoon with Oliver. He's losing weight, having difficulty eating, and pooping outside of his litter box. Poor guy. I'm afraid of what I might hear.
...changes are coming for my Tuesday scrapping group. We're looking for a new place to hang out.
... Spencer has lost his glasses ... both sets! That means no driving for him until he's able to get a new pair

Joy got some nice pictures from the concert the other night:

Weekly Wrap-Up

2011-02-21T14:22:00.000-05:00

It's Family Day here in Ontario. It really doesn't feel like the start of a new week. Right now we are waiting. Waiting for boys. Matt worked nights last night and so he's sleeping. Spencer is still sleeping, inspite of the fact he's been woken up several times and it's been suggested that he needs to start his day. Cameron is doing homework that he's put off doing on the weekend. Once they are up, and ready to go, hopefully we'll go out and do something familyish with what's left of the day. Anyone have any suggestions? It will definately have to involve food.

Recapping the last week looks something like this:
-last Sunday afternoon I went up to Jackson's and spent a few days with my sister and friends in a cottage. It was Heaven! I slept in (for me) in the mornings, started reading a book, scrapbooked, ate lots, did a little shopping, watched movies, and laughed ... a lot!
-it was back to reality on Thursday!
-Cameron has been in Robotics every day after school this week - again, from 3 - 8ish. Saturday they were there from 8 a.m. until 8:30 p.m. and Sunday from 8 -2. They are being crated this week and sent off to Rochester in preparation for the competition. When I went to pick him up on Saturday he dragged me in to show me the forklift that they have finished and is now working. He's loving every minute of this programme. Best of all, the teachers are loving him and have told us so a few times.
-I got my new pillow from the Chiropractor on Friday. Hopefully it will ease the migrains and the neck pain. ...hopefully I won't leave it behind somewhere when I travel.

Looking ahead
-I'm looking forward to getting back into a normal routine this week as Cameron won't have to stay late for Robotics. Lots of time to catch up on homework.
-Spencer is on his Reading Week this week. He's decided not to go to Ottawa. He and Matt may take off for a couple of days instead and do something.
-big band programme on Saturday at Mississauga. Anyone need tickets? $10 for adults, $5 for children.

Big news! I have a layout that is out in print in a book from Log Your Memories. The book is hitting the market as we speak.
Here's the layout:

Repeats

2011-02-18T22:00:00.001-05:00

I answered these questions a couple of years ago on my blog, but since I don't have anything to blog about at the moment, I'm going to repeat. For all my family and friends who complain that they never have anything blog worthy to share, I'm issuing a challenge to answer these too.

1. What was the last thing you put in your mouth?
The very last thing was a cup of tea after dinner.

2. Where was your profile picture taken?
At my Great-Aunt's 90th birthday celebration. It's still the same profile picture I've had up there for a couple of years. Maybe I need to switch it up.

3. Can you play Guitar Hero?
I haven't tried in a while but the last time I tried it was pretty embarrassing.

4. Name someone who made you laugh today. What was it about?
John. It was about something I shouldn't share here.

5. How late did you stay up last night and why?
It was about midnight before I went to sleep. It was band practice night and then I read for a bit.

6. If you could move somewhere else where would you and why?
I think I'd live back in the Caribbean, as long as I could spend time back in Canada every few months.

7. Ever been kissed under fireworks?
I think so, but obviously it wasn't that memorable as I can't say for sure.

8. Which of your friends lives closest to you?
I have a few friends that live fairly close. I think the closest ones would be Deb, who is about 15 minutes, and Milena, who is about the same.

9. Do you believe ex's can be friends? With benefits?
I think they can be friendly and even enjoy spending time together, but definitely not friends with benifits ... without it becoming too complicated.

10. Do you like Dr. Pepper?
Ewwww! My boys think it's funny to try and switch my glass of coke with either root beer or Dr. Pepper just to watch my face when I take a drink. Nasty!

11. When was the last time you cried really hard? Really hard as opposed to just sniveling?
Last April or May. It wasn't pretty.

12. Who took your profile picture?
either my dad or my sister.

13. Who was the last person you took a picture of?
Cathy and Joy at camp. We went down to the lake and walked out onto the frozen lake.

14. Was yesterday better than today? Why?
Yes, I was at camp, enjoying some time with the girls.

15. Can you live a day without TV?
Yes, and without too much difficulty, There isn't a lot on these days that I have to see.

16. Are you upset about anything now?
No. Life is good.

17. Do you think relationships are ever really worth it?
Absolutely!! ...and they are necessary.

18. Are you a bad influence?
hahahaha! I guess it would depend on who you ask.

19. Night out or night in?
Night in. I'm a homebody.

20. What items could you not go without during the day?
My laptop, my hairdryer and curling iron. (I just have to straighten my hair.)

21. Who was the last person you visited in the hospital?
I think it would be my mother-in-law and that was over a year ago.

22. What does the last text message in your inbox say?
"Forget what I said before. The bus is going to skip Cambridge so leave at the normal time."

23. How do you feel about your life right now?
Very content.

24. Do you hate anyone?
No.

25. If we were to look in your Facebook inbox, what would we find?
Not much. I don't have a whole lot in there.

26. Say you were given a drug test right now, would you pass?
Yes.

27. Has anyone ever called you perfect before?
Just John

28. What song is stuck in your head?
My Lip Gloss is Poppin' ... don't ask!

29. Someone knocks on your window at 2 a.m., whom do you want it to be?
Someone telling me the house is on fire, otherwise they better not be knocking on my window at that time of the morning. LOL!

30. Do you (or did you) want to have grandkids before you’re 50?
No and I don't think that's going to happen ... fortunately!

31. Tell us your Saturday night.
Last Saturday night we were out for dinner with the inlaws.

32. Do you think too much or too little?
I think way too much. I tend to analyse things to death ... and I care way too much what other people think.

33. Do you smile a lot?
Probably not often enough.

So, how would you answer these?

Weekly Wrap-Up

2011-02-12T11:04:00.002-05:00

Looking back
-I spent a lot of time this week getting scrapbooking packets put together. It's a very long process but its worth it in the end
-Cameron has stayed at school everyday this week after school for the Robotics Team. 3 - 8ish. Lots of hours but he's loving it. The Robots are almost ready.
-John was away from Sunday to Wednesday for work. I was hoping that it would be low-keyed around here but that wasn't the case
-Cameron had a youth group superbowl party on Sunday. He's not into football so I don't know how much he actually paid attention to the game
-Wednesday was my turn to provide dinner for the Robotics team (40 including teachers). My initial thought was to buy take-out but changed my mind and went with tacos. It was a success.
-had a parents meeting for High Rendition Jazz. Lots of talk on a trip they will be taking in April to Washington DC to participate in a jazz festival there.
-Friday Matt and I played in a composite band for a funeral in Toronto. It was the funeral for the father of a friend of ours. It was a beautiful celebration of his life.
-today we're travelling up to Guelph to attend an open-house for a friend of John's. Afterwards I think we're going to go for dinner with the in-laws.

Looking ahead
-after Church tomorrow I'm kissing my boys good-bye and then heading up to camp for a few days. Cathy has rented a cottage for a week and has a few girls going up to scrapbook and hang out. It will be a a nice, relaxing few days.
-we won't be seeing Spencer this weekend or all week as he has midterms. The week after we might not see him either if he decides to head up to Ottawa for his reading week.

This layout is from out trip to the East Coast a year and a half ago. *sigh* Good times.

Two more

2011-02-10T12:03:00.000-05:00

I'm having fun finishing off a huge pile of layouts that I had started but never finished. I'm using the challenges over at Scrapbook Queens as my motivation to get them finished. Are you looking for some motivation? Come on over. They post challenges a few times a week.

My rotating menu.

2011-02-09T08:42:00.000-05:00

15 years ago I learned out of neccessity that I needed to come up with a weekly menu for dinnertimes. The boys were small at the time and we were living in Barbados. Grocery shopping was very challenging as access to food products was very limited. Coming up with a menu with recipes that called for common ingredients was how I survived. By the time we moved back to Canada, I had a 6-week rotating menu with recipes that the boys would eat.

After moving back I didn't want to fall back into old habbits of processed foods, pre-made cook-from-fozen kind of meals, so I continued on with the menu idea. It worked - for the most part ... but I was starting to find it a chore to dig out the recipes (yes, I still cook from the recipies) everytime I needed to go grocery shopping or cook.

Then, one day, two years ago, I came across this idea on the internet ... and I tweaked it a little to fit my purposes.

It's a photo box that contains little mini photo albums inside. Instead of photos in the slots, I stamped words on 4x6 cards and inserted them.

Inside I have labelled the spines of the four mini albums. Week 1,2,and 3; Week 4, 5, and 6; Side dishes and desserts; and Holidays and company.

Then I labelled each page in the mini albums with the days of the week with a label maker. I printed off all the recipies and inserted them in the albums.

The advantage to this system is that I no longer need to pull out my recipe books on a daily basis and I can move the recipies around if they aren't working where they are in the rotation. It also allows me to swap in new recipies and take out old ones when we get bored of them. Making up my grocery list became a lot faster.

I can just leave the box sitting on my kitchen counter. It's convenient, and it looks great.

If you're wondering where I got the idea from CHECK HERE. She created a recipe box. I took the idea a little farther to work for me and made it a menu box.

Now I'm hungry!

Sharing ... again

2011-02-05T10:22:00.000-05:00

I'm trying to clean up my computer. I have a lot of layouts that are sitting on my hard drive that I'm trying to organize, download, delete, or place in other files. There are many that I haven't shared here so you will have to bear with me while I so some cleaning.

These pictures were from Mother's Day last year when we went down to London to spend some time with my Mom.

Cameron's 13th birthday

Mother's Day 3 years ago

Mother's Day 2 years ago

Cameron is always building something. He built a catapult to feed the cat some treats. Of course, Oliver was more than happy to participate in the experiment.

Ok, that's all I'll subject you to for now, but there will be more coming.

So what are you up to this weekend?

I'm happy to say that we have a fairly low-key weekend ahead. Right now Cameron is at the robotics programme at school and will be until 3:30 when we pick him up and take him and Spencer to a concert they are playing at in Mississauga. Tomorrow John leaves on business for a few days and Cameron has a Superbowl party that he's going to (which I may, or may not be going to with him) Otherwise it should be nice a quiet. Yay!

Sharing Time

2011-02-04T10:49:00.000-05:00

I've been enjoying hanging out at a couple of scrapbook forums and participating in the challenges.
One of the challenges posted this week was to take something and use it in an unexpected way.
I pulled out a project that I started quite sometime ago and used it as a perfect excuse to finish it off.

I don't often make mini albums. This one was done using electrical switch plates that I altered for the covers. I love the way it turned out!

If you're a scrapbooker and are looking for a friendly place to hang out online, check out Scrapbook Queens and Scrapbook Star. In addition to friendly people, you'll find lots of inspiration.

Snow in Toronto

2011-02-02T10:12:00.000-05:00

My thoughts and prayers are with all who are suffering in Toronto today.

Where's the army? Why me? Why now? why TORONTO?

Hahahahaha!
We're such wimps!

Yay! It's a snow day today. I went to bed all excited for blizzard-like conditions when I woke up. Sadly, it didn't amount to much, but it was enough for the schools to be closed.

PJ day.

For today ...

2011-01-27T09:50:00.000-05:00

Outside My Window... snow, snow, and more snow.
I am excited about ... Mexico
I am thinking... that it's hot in here. Maybe I need to turn the fireplace off.
I am thankful for... old friends, good memories.
From the kitchen... since Thursday is band practise night, it means we are eating on the run. Likely Spencer and I will sit together in some fast-food restaurant and grab a bite before band practise. Fast food - yuck spending time one on one with Spencer - well worth it.
I am wearing... shhhhhhh! I'm still in my pjs.
I created this week ... several layouts ... some are still a work in progress.
I am hearing... HGTV
I am wondering ... where I can find more hours in my day to do everything I want to do.
One of my favorite things from the past week... going for dinner with the girls. We went to Waterloo for the day and Spencer joined us for dinner. I enjoyed watching him interact with my friends.

Around the house... as much time as I've spent on cleaning the house in the last month you would think my house would look like a magazine spread ... but sadly it looks like it hasn't been touched.
I am going ... on a youth retreat this weekend. I'm sure it's going to be a lot of fun, but I'm also sure I'm going to come home very, very tired.
A Few Plans In the Works: I still need to get going on some quilts I'm making for the trailer, lots of photos that need to be edited, and printed, and then packets made for layouts.
A layout to share: two actually -

I really love the top picture in this layout. I really wish every night of homework looked like this.

Memory Lane

2011-01-24T09:48:00.000-05:00

About a week ago a friend from my teenage years started a Facebook group for all of us who hung out together. It has been a real blast from the past and I have looked forward to checking into Facebook several times a day to see who has posted memories, pictures, and who else has joined the group. This week has reaffirmed to me just what a special thing we had going back then.

We all belonged to the Brampton Salvation Army Church. I don't know how many there were, but I would say that over the years there was probably close to 75 in total. It was a group that was very inclusive. No one, no matter what, was excluded. We did a lot together through the Youth Group, but we also did a lot on our own. When we decided to go to a movie on a Saturday night, everyone would get on the phone and start phoning everyone to let them know. Everyone felt like they belonged.

We did so much together. We were together all the time. There are so many memories that are being shared. We went to Friday night hockey games (every Friday) followed by food at Mothers' Restaurant (remember those?), lots of nights just handing out playing board games, all-nighters in someone's basement (imagine 35 teens spending the night in your basement ... and yet the parents were always so supportive.), many trips for shopping, shows, the Laserium in Toronto, we even went downtown Toronto to watch the opening of the very first Star Wars movie, camping trips, so much time spent at Centre Island, ...so many memories.

I've "borrowed" some of the pictures that have been posted.
This one is from Halloween, 1979 (we think).

We spent a lot of nights raising money doing Stuff-A-Thons. Companies would give us their flyers or brochures that we would have to collate and then stuff them in the envelopes to be mailed. I hated the task, but I loved just being there with everyone because it was always so much fun.

One of the camping trips.

One of our trips to Centre Island.

This was taken at one of the Youth Retreats that we went on. They were always so much fun!

One of our favourite places to hang out was an old, run down building that sat on the Church property. It couldn't be used for much, but our parents all got together, along with the kids, and cleaned it up, painted it, donated furniture (including a ping pong table) and it became "The Shack" to us. Our hang-out.

It's been so much fun reliving my teen years, but it's also a little bitter sweet in that I really whish that it was something that my own kids could experience.

Off to check out Facebook!

Things that are making me happy right now

2011-01-17T18:38:00.000-05:00

It's January, and it's been snowing ... a lot. The days are short, and it gets dark so early. So, I figured a list of things that are making me happy right now was in order. Focus on the possitive right?

1. We spent a great afternoon in Guelph this past weekend. We were celebrating my Father-in-law's 85th birthday. I always love spending time with family.
2. Cameron joining the Robotics Team. It makes me so happy to see him so passionate about something.
3. The days are getting longer ... although that's hard to believe.
4. We have lots of pretty, white snow on the ground ... with more on the way ... maybe a snow day?
5. Matt is liking his job and he seems to enjoy the people he works with.
6. Having the house and everyone in it back into a routine.
7. Having time to scrap again.
8. That a few of the teens at Church wanted me to come as an adult leader on their retreat in a couple of weeks - they even went to the Youth Pastor about it. It's nice to know that they think that I'm still cool and a lot of fun ... even if my own kids don't see it LOL!
9. Spending a lot of time on Facebook in a group that a friend from my teenage years set up to share our memories. There's so much that I'd forgotten about. Those were good times!
10. Not having to drive Cameron to school in the morning. I still get up (most days) but I can stay in my cozy PJs until after I have my breakfast and my tea.
11. Having two boys who have their driver's licence.
12. Curling up with the cat.
13. Putting on some candles and the fireplace in the evening.
14. Browsing DIY sites on the computer.
15. Having a casserole for supper on a cold night.
16. John making me a cup of tea and bringing it to me, just because.
17. Laughing with my boys.
18. Having a day when I don't need to leave the house for anything.
19. Listening to my favourite playlist on my ipod.
20. When the cat uses the scratching post instead of trying to use the couch,

Well, that casserole is almost done. Dinnertime! Yum!

Check out these two cuties! My neice's twins. They really bring a smile to my face.

I'm Loving This!

2011-01-13T14:02:00.000-05:00

On my internet travels I came across this little gem.

It's a free (always love that!) printable list to record your favorite part of each day. There's one for each month. As suggested, I printed them off and put them on a binder ring. It will be so much fun to look back at the end of the year and read the highlights of each day for the last year.

Check it out. You can find it here. The Best of my Days

The Simple Woman's Daybook

2011-01-10T10:17:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I've done this. So here it goes.
Outside My Window... It's a cold, crisp day out there, but the sun is shining right now which makes it very bright when it reflects off the snow.
I am excited about ... our plans for the summer.
I am thinking... that sometimes I care way too much what other people think of me.
I am thankful for... changes, new friends, and new opportunities.
From the kitchen... ummmm ... I'm not sure yet. I want to get back to my weekely menu, but I can't seem to find the motivation yet. I'm still pretty tired after all the meals we made over the Christmas week.
I am wearing... yoga pants and a big, bulky hoodie, which I'm sure will be coming off as soon as I get off the couch and get moving around here.
I created this week ... I finally made it back into my scraproom after taking December off. It felt good to just go and play. I managed to get 6 layouts done.
I am reading... Nothing! I have three or four books sitting, waiting for me. I've been wanting to start one of them, but I've had a migraine for the last week and so the thought of reading is making me nauseated.
I am hearing... the sound of the furnace blowing warm air throughout the house. I'm very grateful.
I am wondering ... where I put my migraine medication.
One of my favorite things ... listening to Cameron telling me about one of the amazing, creative ideas that he has floating around in his head and how he's going to make it.
Around the house... I have messes everywhere. Every room is showing post-Christmas exhaustion. So am I!
I am going ... to have to go to the fabric store. I need to buy some nice flannel material to start making some quilts for the bunks in the trailer. It's been a long time since I've been inside a fabric store.
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: cleaning, eye appointment, fabric store, parents' meeting for jazz band, chiropractor, birthday party on Saturday, concert on Saturday
A picture to share: Cameron had to make this robotic arm last year for sschool. He looked forward to making it for months. This year, in high school, he has joined to robotics club. I love it!

Spencer's trip to the Rose Bowl parade.

2011-01-09T20:49:00.000-05:00

I know I already Facebooked it, but this is definately blog worthy.

As some of you already know, Spencer had the chance to go to California to play in the Salvation Army band in the Rose Bowl parade. He left on December 27th with 7 others from Toronto.

He was so excited to go, and we were so excited for him. Heather snapped this picture of the three of us at the airport when we were dropping him off.

We set out alarms on New Years Day, even though we were up into the wee hours of the morning.

The parade started at 11 and at 12:07, the band passed by the cameras. John spotted Spencer, and then just like that, they were gone.

This is the NBC coverage and you can see Spencer at 36 seconds in the top right of the screen.

What a great experience for him. He's a fairly quiet guy, but he was chatting all the way home from the airport about his trip.

I didn't get too many details out of him, but I've seen a few pictures on Facebook from some others who were there. I'm so happy to get these little glimpses into his trip, because he didn't take a camera.

The first picture is the group from Toronto that went together in their parade tunics. I'm not sure where the other two pictures were taken.

Sharing some layouts

2011-01-08T09:00:00.001-05:00

Yes, January is here. For me that means more time for scrapping ... and after the crazy month of December, I'm always eager to get my creative juices flowing again.

To celebrate, I've gone into my files and decided to get back to sharing my layouts here again.

These pictures are from last summer. Cameron wasn't too happy with me snapping some pictures of him on the beach, but I managed to get some good ones anyway.

These pictures are a year old and I finally managed to get this one done this week.
These pictures are of Cameron and I trying to fly a kite on the beach in Myrtle Beach last March. We we're very successful.